Abstract Herein, we report the successful synthesis of visible light driven metal doped TiO2 coated
carbon nanospheres (CNS) via a facile hydrothermal approach. The synthesized materials were
characterized by standard analytical techniques, such as XRD, SEM–EDS-mapping, TEM, FTIR,
PL, Raman and UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. The effect of dopants on the band gap energy,
crystallite size and photocatalytic properties of the TiO2 coated CNS was investigated systematically.
The incorporation of dopants in TiO2 matrix found to significantly extend the absorption
edge toward visible region and efficient separation of charge carriers on excitation. The photodegradation
of two different organic dyes were investigated to evaluate the activity of the photocatalyst
under different conditions such as dopant percentage, catalyst dose, different quenchers and calcination
temperature. The best photocatalytic activity was observed with 3.0% Ce, doped TiO2
coated CNS with 1.5 g L
1 concentration calcined at 400 C. We also performed the antibacterial
activity of pure and doped-TiO2 coated CNS against pathogenic gram negative and gram positive
bacteria. The doped-TiO2 coated CNS exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against both
bacteria.