RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Mo doped TiO2: impact on oxygen vacancies, anatase phase stability and photocatalytic activity A1 Kumaravel, Vignesh A1 Rhatigan, Stephen A1 Mathew, Snehamol A1 Michel, Marie Clara A1 Bartlett, John A1 Nolan, Michael A1 Hinder, Steven J. A1 Gasco Guerrero, Antonio María A1 Ruiz Palomar, César A1 Hermosilla Redondo, María Daphne A1 Pillai, Suresh C. K1 Photocatalysis K1 Nanoscience K1 Nanotechnology K1 TiO2 AB This work outlines an experimental and theoretical investigation of the effect of molybdenum (Mo) doping on the oxygen vacancy formation and photocatalytic activity of TiO2. Analytical techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence (PL) were used to probe the anatase to rutile transition (ART), surface features and optical characteristics of Mo doped TiO2 (Mo–TiO2). XRD results showed that the ART was effectively impeded by 2 mol% Mo doping up to 750 °C, producing 67% anatase and 33% rutile. Moreover, the crystal growth of TiO2 was affected by Mo doping via its interaction with oxygen vacancies and the Ti–O bond. The formation of Ti–O–Mo and Mo–Ti–O bonds were confirmed by XPS results. Phonon confinement, lattice strain and non-stoichiometric defects were validated through the Raman analysis. DFT results showed that, after substitutional doping of Mo at a Ti site in anatase, the Mo oxidation state is Mo6+ and empty Mo-s states emerge at the titania conduction band minimum. The empty Mo-d states overlap the anatase conduction band in the DOS plot. A large energy cost, comparable to that computed for pristine anatase, is required to reduce Mo–TiO2 through oxygen vacancy formation. Mo5+ and Ti3+ are present after the oxygen vacancy formation and occupied states due to these reduced cations emerge in the energy gap of the titania host. PL studies revealed that the electron–hole recombination process in Mo–TiO2 was exceptionally lower than that of TiO2 anatase and rutile. This was ascribed to introduction of 5s gap states below the CB of TiO2 by the Mo dopant. Moreover, the photo-generated charge carriers could easily be trapped and localised on the TiO2 surface by Mo6+ and Mo5+ ions to improve the photocatalytic activity. PB IOP Publishing SN 2515-7639 YR 2020 FD 2020 LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/57514 UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/57514 LA eng NO Journal of Physics: Materials, 2020, Vol. 3, Nº. 2, 025008 NO Producción Científica DS UVaDOC RD 22-dic-2024