Effect of Ag Doped V₂O₅ Thin Films on Structural, Morphological, Electrical Properties and Their Photocatalytic Application

Abstract: In this study, we attempted to explore pure and silver (Ag) doped vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) thin films on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) glass substrates using thermal evaporation method. The prepared pure and Ag doped V₂O₅ thin films were characterized for their structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies exhibited that the Ag doped V₂O₅ films had an orthorhombic structure, and the estimated average crystallite size decreased with raising Ag concentrations. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that Ag doped V₂O₅ thin film exhibited a spherical-like structure. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analysis of doped films revealed that the elongated rectangular shape had a high surface roughness. The optical band gap (eV) values were increased from 2.48 to 2.65 eV as the doping percentages increased from 2 to 8 wt %. The electrical properties of the 6 wt % Ag doped V₂O₅ films showed the lowest resistivity and the highest carrier concentration. The photocatalytic activity was investigated by measuring the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under natural sunlight illumination. The finding results revealed that the decoloration of RhB dye was found to be above 91% within 120 min for 6 wt % Ag doped V₂O₅ compared to pure V₂O₅.