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Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)<br><a href="http://events.saip.org.za/getFile.py/access?resId=0&materialId=0&confId=34" target="_blank">Formatting &<br>Special chars</a>
With titanium isopropoxide as the precursor, single and double doped nanosized powders of TiO2 were synthesised by the sol-gel process. The metal dopants used were Ag, Cu and Fe at doping levels of 5% (molar weight). The post annealing of the samples was done at 300 °C, 600 °C and 900 °C after drying them at 100 °C in air. Structural characterisation of the samples was carried out by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman and scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. The results suggests that the co-doped TiO2 powders are constituted by both the anatase and brookite phases (with the dopant particles incorporated into the TiO2 matrix) whereas only anatase is observed in the case of pure and singly doped samples (with the dopants residing on the TiO2 surface). The co-existence of brookite with anatase in the co-doped sample is thought to be responsible for the enhancement of anatase to rutile transformation. Photoluminescence (PL) and UV-visible measurements were done to study the optical properties of the TiO2 nanoparticles. This revealed the active PL band at around 440 nm. Double doping was found to enhances the narrowing of the band gap, over single doping.
