Photocatalytic removal of benzene over Ti3C2Tx MXene and TiO2–MXene composite materials under solar and NIR irradiation

The TiO2/MXene composites prepared by different routes were assessed towards the degradation of organic pollutants under simulated solar light. A notable photocatalytic activity of bare MXene under near infra-red light was discovered.

Heterogeneous Photocatalysis of Metronidazole in Aquatic Samples

Metronidazole (MET) is a commonly detected contaminant in the environment. The compound is classified as poorly biodegradable and highly soluble in water. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is the most promoted water purification method due to the possibility of using sunlight and small amounts of a catalyst needed for the process. The aim of this study was to select conditions for photocatalytic removal of metronidazole from aquatic samples. The effect of catalyst type, mass, and irradiance intensity on the efficiency of metronidazole removal was determined. For this purpose, TiO2, ZnO, ZrO2, WO3, PbS, and their mixtures in a mass ratio of 1:1 were used. In this study, the transformation products formed were identified, and the mineralization degree of compound was determined. The efficiency of metronidazole removal depending on the type of catalyst was in the range of 50–95%. The highest MET conversion (95%) combined with a high degree of mineralization (70.3%) was obtained by using a mixture of 12.5 g TiO2–P25 + PbS (1:1; v/v) and running the process for 60 min at an irradiance of 1000 W m−2. Four MET degradation products were identified by untargeted analysis, formed by the rearrangement of the metronidazole and the C-C bond breaking.

Boosting Photocatalytic Efficiency of MoS2/CdS By Modulating Morphology

With the rapid development of nuclear-related industries in the world, the consequent environmental pollution of radionuclides has become an increasingly serious problem due to the great harm to environmental diversity and human health. The photocatalytic removal of radionuclide on CdS-based photocatalysts has been attracted widely attentions due to the suitable band gap and high photocatalytic efficiency. In this study, approximately 97.5% of U(VI) was photo-catalytically reduced into U(IV) by 2.5 wt% MoS2/CdS composite within 15 min. After 5 cycles, 2.5 wt% MoS2/CdS composite still exhibited the high removal efficiency of U(VI) under 50 min irradiation, indicating the good stability. The findings indicated that CdS-based catalyst has a great potential for the photocatalytic reduction of uranyl in actual environmental remediation.

Preparation of black-TiO2 and its application in photocatalytic removal of methyl orange dye

For a few decades, Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) has been the most studied photocatalyst due to its significant optical property. In the paper, TiO2 pigment powder (Anatase form) was selected as a precursor to prepare a variety of Black-TiO2 samples, and the typical material was then evaluated for its photocatalytic activity in organic pollutant treatment. Some properties of Black-TiO2 were determined via common methods such as sensory analysis, X-Ray diffraction, and bandgap measurement obtained from UV-Vis spectroscopy. As a result, the material was successfully converted to more than 40% organic pollutant as Methyl Orange (C14H14N3NaO3S) for an hour, as two times higher than that of the amount converted by pristine TiO2. In addition, Black-TiO2 performed much better photocatalytic activity in an acidic medium in comparison with a neutral one, and the material also remained its activity as more than 90% after three time-continuous recycling operations.