Photoluminescence of oxygen vacancy-rich nano-TiO2 photocatalyst for methylene blue color degradation

UNPAD Researchers Unlock Visible-Light TiO₂ for Faster Dye Degradation—Advancing SDG 6 (Clean Water)
A Universitas Padjadjaran team engineered oxygen-vacancy–rich (OV) nano-TiO₂ via a simple solvothermal route (150–210 °C) to boost visible-light absorption and charge separation. Photoluminescence revealed mid-gap defect states linked to improved photocatalysis. Under natural sunlight, the T150 sample achieved ~93.43% MB removal in 3 h (rate constant k = 0.0096 min⁻¹), outperforming commercial TiO₂ P25 (73.57%). Band-gap narrowing (down to ~2.65 eV) and reactive oxygen species generation underpin the gains, confirmed by XRD/SEM-EDS/XPS/UV-Vis/PL analyses.

Read more: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mseb.2025.118401