Phase Transformations and Photocatalytic Activity of Nanostructured Y(2)O(3)/TiO(2)-Y(2)TiO(5) Ceramic Such as Doped with Carbon Nanotubes

This work is devoted to the study of phase transition processes in nanostructured ceramics of the Y(2)O(3)/TiO(2)-Y(2)TiO(5) type doped with carbon nanotubes as a result of thermal annealing, as well as to the assessment of the prospects of the effect of phase composition on photocatalytic activity. By the method of X-ray phase analysis, it was found that an increase in the annealing temperature leads to the formation of the orthorhombic phase Y(2)TiO(5), as well as structural ordering. Based on the obtained UV spectra, the band gap was calculated, which varies from 2.9 eV (initial sample) to 2.1 eV (annealed at a temperature of 1000 °C). During photocatalytic tests, it was established that the synthesized nanostructured ceramics Y(2)O(3)/TiO(2)-Y(2)TiO(5) doped CNTs show a fairly good photocatalytic activity in the range of 60–90% decomposition of methyl orange.