Silver‐Doped TiO2‐Coated Cotton Fabric as an Effective Photocatalytic System for Dye Decolorization in UV and Visible Light

In this study, titanium tetra‐isopropoxide was used as a precursor of TiO2 for in situ coating on cotton fabric by sol–gel method. Subsequently, silver nitrate was used as doping agent to prepare silver‐doped TiO2‐coated cotton fabric during hydrothermal treatment. The treated samples were characterized through field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis, inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectroscopy and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy to study morphology, composition of deposited elements and light absorption behavior of treated samples. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy was carried out to analyze the electronic state of silver in TiO2‐coated fabric after hydrothermal treatment. Doping of silver on TiO2‐coated fabric and subsequent hydrothermal treatment was found to enhance dye decolorization rate of rhodamine B dye solution in both UV and visible light radiations with respect to undoped TiO2. The study shows that an optimal level of silver‐doped TiO2‐coated fabric can be used repeatedly for dye decolorization without significant loss in its photocatalytic activity. The self‐cleaning properties of samples were also studied using methylene blue as a staining agent. It was observed that the presence of 1.8% silver on the weight of titanium in doped samples provides almost 82% of stain degradation.