Study of Optical Properties and Photocatalytic Activity of Titanium-Incorporated Zinc-Boro-Phosphate Glasses

Abstract

Conventional melt-quenching technique process is used to produce TiO₂ comprising glasses of ZnO-B₂O₃-P₂O₅
(x = 0, 0.05, 0.10). The amorphous properties of the samples is achieved by the X-ray diffraction pattern. Absorbance characteristics identify band gap reduction from 4.12eV to 3.41eV as a consequence of enhancement in Urbach energies from 0.53eV to 0.32eV signifying gradually increasing defect states with the rising TiO₂ content. The effect of TiO₂ addition on skin depth, VELF, and SELF parameters is also studied. The abasement of the common organic dyes like RhB under UV light is performed by studies of photocatalytic activities of the produced samples. The highest rate of degradation (81%) is observed for the sample having the compositional value of x = 0.10. The results show that the glasses as made have promise for use in photocatalytic materials and optoelectronic systems.