Development of g-C3N4/TiO2/Fe3O4@SiO2 heterojunction via sol-gel route: A magnetically recyclable direct contact Z-scheme nanophotocatalyst for enhanced photocatalytic removal of ibuprofen from real sewage effluent under visible light

2018 ◽  
Vol 353 ◽  
pp. 645-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Kumar ◽  
Musharib Khan ◽  
Xiangkang Zeng ◽  
Irene M.C. Lo
Inorganics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadj Benhebal ◽  
Cédric Wolfs ◽  
Samir Kadi ◽  
Rémi G. Tilkin ◽  
Boualem Allouche ◽  
...  

In this study, pure ZnCo2O4 and SnO2/ZnCo2O4 mix photocatalysts have been synthesized by the sol-gel process with three different SnO2 loading percentages (10, 20, and 30 wt %). Their photocatalytic activities were assessed on the degradation of organic pollutants in water under visible illumination. The structural, morphological, and optical properties were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV–Visible diffuse reflectance measurements. The results have shown that the materials are composed of a crystalline ZnCo2O4 matrix with a decrease in crystallite size with the amount of SnO2. Weakly crystalline SnO2 is also observed for loaded samples. The specific surface area is modified with the loading ratio. The evaluation of the photoactivity of the samples under visible light for the degradation of p-nitrophenol has highlighted that all materials are highly photoactive under visible light thanks to heterojunction between the two oxides. An application test has been conducted on a dye, congo red, showing the same tendencies. An optimal amount of SnO2 loading is observed for the sample containing 20 wt % of SnO2. A comparison with commercial Evonik P25 showed that the materials developed in this work have five to six times better efficiency under visible light, leading to a promising photocatalyst material.


Author(s):  
Snehamol Mathew ◽  
Priyanka Ganguly ◽  
Stephen Rhatigan ◽  
Vignesh Kumaravel ◽  
Ciara Byrne ◽  
...  

Indoor surface contamination by microbes is a major public health concern. A damp environment is one potential sources for microbe proliferation. Smart photocatalytic coatings on building surfaces using semiconductors like titania (TiO<sub>2</sub>) can effectively curb this growing threat.<b> </b>Metal-doped titania in anatase phase has been proved as a promising candidate for energy and environmental applications. In this present work, the antimicrobial efficacy of copper (Cu) doped TiO<sub>2 </sub>(Cu-TiO<sub>2</sub>) was evaluated against <i>Escherichia coli</i> (Gram-negative) and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (Gram-positive) under visible light irradiation. Doping of a minute fraction of Cu (0.5 mol %) in TiO<sub>2 </sub>was carried out <i>via</i> sol-gel technique. Cu-TiO<sub>2</sub> further calcined at various temperatures (in the range of 500 °C – 700 °C) to evaluate the thermal stability of TiO<sub>2</sub> anatase phase. The physico-chemical properties of the samples were characterised through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-visible spectroscopy techniques. XRD results revealed that the anatase phase of TiO<sub>2</sub> was maintained well, up to 650 °C, by the Cu dopant. UV-DRS results suggested that the visible light absorption property of Cu-TiO<sub>2 </sub>was enhanced and the band gap is reduced to 2.8 eV. Density functional theory (DFT) studies emphasises the introduction of Cu<sup>+</sup> and Cu<sup>2+</sup> ions by replacing Ti<sup>4+</sup> ions in the TiO<sub>2</sub> lattice, creating oxygen vacancies. These further promoted the photocatalytic efficiency. A significantly high bacterial inactivation (99.9%) was attained in 30 mins of visible light irradiation by Cu-TiO<sub>2</sub>.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Hayette Benkhennouche-Bouchene ◽  
Julien G. Mahy ◽  
Cédric Wolfs ◽  
Bénédicte Vertruyen ◽  
Dirk Poelman ◽  
...  

TiO2 prepared by a green aqueous sol–gel peptization process is co-doped with nitrogen and zirconium to improve and extend its photoactivity to the visible region. Two nitrogen precursors are used: urea and triethylamine; zirconium (IV) tert-butoxide is added as a source of zirconia. The N/Ti molar ratio is fixed regardless of the chosen nitrogen precursor while the quantity of zirconia is set to 0.7, 1.4, 2, or 2.8 mol%. The performance and physico-chemical properties of these materials are compared with the commercial Evonik P25 photocatalyst. For all doped and co-doped samples, TiO2 nanoparticles of 4 to 8 nm of size are formed of anatase-brookite phases, with a specific surface area between 125 and 280 m2 g−1 vs. 50 m2 g−1 for the commercial P25 photocatalyst. X-ray photoelectron (XPS) measurements show that nitrogen is incorporated into the TiO2 materials through Ti-O-N bonds allowing light absorption in the visible region. The XPS spectra of the Zr-(co)doped powders show the presence of TiO2-ZrO2 mixed oxide materials. Under visible light, the best co-doped sample gives a degradation of p-nitrophenol (PNP) equal to 70% instead of 25% with pure TiO2 and 10% with P25 under the same conditions. Similarly, the photocatalytic activity improved under UV/visible reaching 95% with the best sample compared to 50% with pure TiO2. This study suggests that N/Zr co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles can be produced in a safe and energy-efficient way while being markedly more active than state-of-the-art photocatalytic materials under visible light.


ACS Omega ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 8717-8725
Author(s):  
Maha Alhaddad ◽  
Reda M. Mohamed ◽  
Mohamed H. H. Mahmoud

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