A Facile Synthesis of Anatase Ni²⁺ Doped TiO2 Nanorods with Highly Improved Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance

Objective: Herein, we reported a simple and effective approach to synthesis of pure and Ni²⁺ doped TiO2 nanorods by a photon-induced method (PIM) followed by calcination at 850 ºC in air atmosphere. Methods: Basically, the PIM was used to tuning the properties of as-prepared TiO2 photocatalyst. These obtained samples were further characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) analysis. XRD results reveals that the both pure TiO2 and Ni doped TiO2 nanorods has anatase phase up to 850°C. Results: The HR-TEM analysis indicates that doping Ni is favourable to the formation of rod-like TiO2 sample. Also, the observed photocatalytic results demonstrates that the Ni doped TiO2 can be achieved a complete degradation of methylene blue (MB) within 30 min under direct sunlight irradiation as compared to pure TiO2. Conclusion: Therefore, this work revealing the doped Ni has a good potential to modification of TiO2 with an excellent photocatalytic activity for water treatment applications.