Photoacoustic Spectroscopy of Titanium Dioxide, Niobium Pentoxide, Titanium:Niobium, and Ruthenium-Modified Oxides Synthesized Using Sol-Gel Methodology.

The aim of this work was the development and morphological/chemical, spectroscopic, and structural characterization of titanium dioxide, niobium pentoxide, and titanium:niobium (Ti:Nb) oxides, as well as materials modified with ruthenium (Ru) with the purpose of providing improvement in photoactivation capacity with visible sunlight radiation. The new materials synthesized using the sol-gel methodology were characterized using the following techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SEM-EDS analyses showed the high purity of the bases, and the modified samples showed the adsorption of ruthenium on the surface with the crystals' formation and visible agglomerates for higher calcination temperature.