Colored Ti2O3 and Ti2O3/TiO2 (mTiO) catalysts were prepared by the thermal treatment method. The effects of treatment temperature on the structure, surface area, morphology and optical properties of the as-prepared samples were investigated by XRD, BET, SEM, TEM, Raman and UV–VIS spectroscopies. Phase transformation from Ti2O3 to TiO2 rutile and TiO2 anatase to TiO2 rutile increased with increasing treatment temperatures. The photocatalytic activities of thermally treated Ti2O3 and mTiO were evaluated in the photodegradation of 4-tert-butylphenol (4-t-BP) under solar light irradiation. mTiO heated at 650 °C exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation and mineralization of 4-t-BP, being approximately 89.8% and 52.4%, respectively, after 150 min of irradiation. The effects of various water constituents, including anions (CO32−, NO3, Cl and HCO3−) and humic acid (HA), on the photocatalytic activity of mTiO-650 were evaluated. The results showed that the presence of carbonate and nitrate ions inhibited 4-t-BP photodegradation, while chloride and bicarbonate ions enhanced the photodegradation of 4-t-BP. As for HA, its effect on the degradation of 4-t-BP was dependent on the concentration. A low concentration of HA (1 mg/L) promoted the degradation of 4-t-BP from 89.8% to 92.4% by mTiO-650, but higher concentrations of HA (5 mg/L and 10 mg/L) had a negative effect.

In the present study, UV-light-driven advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been employed for the degradation of 4-tert-Butylphenol (4-t-BP) in water under continuous flow conditions. The effects of varying space time (10, 20, 40, 60 and 120 min) and oxidant dosage (88.3 mg/L, 176.6 mg/L and 264 mg/L) were examined. 4-t-BP degradation efficiency in the UV-induced AOPs followed the order of UV/H2O2 (264.9 mg/L) ≈ UV/Fe2+/H2O2 > UV/Fe3+/H2O2 > UV/H2O2 (176.6 mg/L) > UV/H2O2 (88.3 mg/L) > UV/Fe-TiO2 > UV/TiO2 > UV, while UV/Fe3+/H2O2 was the most efficient process in terms of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) removal (at the space time of 60 min) among those tested. The combination of UV with 88.3 mg/L H2O2 enhanced pollutant removal from 51.29% to 93.34% after 10 min of irradiation. The presence of H2O2 contributed to the highest 4-t-BP and TOC removal values. Interestingly, the increase in space time from 20 to 60 min resulted in surpassing of the activity of the Fe-TiO2 over commercial TiO2, although it had an almost negligible positive impact on the performance of the UV/H2O2 system as well as H2O2 concentration. The results obtained showed that more than 80% of 4-t-BP could be successfully degraded by both heterogeneous and homogeneous AOPs after 60 min.

Ionic compounds have been of global interest since stepping into a mature field of research. The aim of this study was to synthesize novel and known ionic compounds via the N‐alkylation process and fully characterize them by elemental analysis and infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Investigation of the influence of the alkyl chain length and the charge of the cation on the ecotoxicity of 11 new and known ionic compounds based on tolperisone, diphenhydramine and trimecaine was investigated with the use of luminescence inhibition assay. To give information about the ecotoxicity of these new ionic compounds, the acute toxicity dataset of each compound was determined using Aliivibrio fischeri bacteria as a biomodel. According to the obtained results, the studied compounds could be considered non‐harmful to Aliivibrio fischeri. A quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) study was carried out with the aim of modelling the observed behaviour and providing a prediction basis for ecotoxicity towards Aliivibrio fischeri.

Mono-doped (Mo-TiO2 and W-TiO2) and co-doped TiO2 (Co-Mo-TiO2, Co-W-TiO2, Cu-Mo-TiO2, Cu-W-TiO2, Zn-Mo-TiO2, and Zn-W-TiO2) catalysts were synthesized by simple impregnation methods and tested for the photocatalytic degradation of 4-tert-butylphenol in water under UV (365 nm) light irradiation. The catalysts were characterized with various analytical methods. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, Diffuse reflectance (DR) spectroscopies, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were applied to investigate the structure, optical properties, morphology, and elemental composition of the prepared catalysts. The XRD patterns revealed the presence of peaks corresponding to the WO3 in W-TiO2, Co-W-TiO2, Cu-W-TiO2, and Zn-W-TiO2. The co-doping of Cu and Mo to the TiO2 lattice was evidenced by the shift of XRD planes towards higher 2θ values, confirming the lattice distortion. Elemental mapping images confirmed the successful impregnation and uniform distribution of metal particles on the TiO2 surface. Compared to undoped TiO2, Mo-TiO2 and W-TiO2 exhibited a lower energy gap. Further incorporation of Mo-TiO2 with Co or Cu introduced slight changes in energy gap and light absorption characteristics, particularly visible light absorption. In addition, photoluminescence (PL) showed that Cu-Mo-TiO2 has a weaker PL intensity than undoped TiO2. Thus, Cu-Mo-TiO2 showed better catalytic activity than pure TiO2, achieving complete degradation of 4-tert-butylphenol under UV light irradiation after 60 min. The application of Cu-Mo-TiO2 under solar light conditions was also tested, and 70% of 4-tert-butylphenol degradation was achieved within 150 min.

In this work, Ag2CO3 was prepared via a solution-based method and was further characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM/EDS analysis, and UV-VIS spectroscopy. SEM results revealed the formation of micro-sized particles with a rectangular shape. The photocatalytic activity of the catalyst was evaluated in the degradation of 4-tert-butylphenol (4-t-BP) under simulated solar light irradiation. The effects of 4-t-BP initial concentration (2.5–10 ppm), catalyst dosage (100–300 mg/L), different types of lamp sources, and water matrix were investigated. Complete 4-t-BP (5 ppm) degradation was achieved after 60 min by Ag2CO3 (200 mg/L). The effect of anions such as CO32−, HCO3−, NO3−, and Cl- in the concentration range of 100–300 mg/L was also studied. CO32− promoted the photocatalytic degradation process, while HCO3− and NO3− exhibited an inhibition effect, which was marked with increasing HCO3− and NO3− concentrations. The presence of Cl− at the concentration of 100 mg/L increased 4-t-BP degradation, but higher concentrations inhibited the photocatalytic reaction. Cyclic experiments showed that the catalyst practically retained its catalytic activity toward 4-t-BP degradation after three successive experimental runs.

Zeolites have been widely regarded as promising supporting host materials for the catalyst due to their unique structure, high surface area and excellent adsorption capacity. In this work, TiO2 particles were deposited on the surface of zeolite and used as catalyst for photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole in water under UV light irradiation (365 nm). XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM/EDS, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and BET analysis were used to investigate the physico-chemical properties of prepared catalysts. Among prepared catalysts, TiO2/Z-500 exhibited better photocatalytic performance by achieving complete sulfamethoxazole (30 mg/L) degradation after 20 min of reaction and ~18% of TOC removal after 120 min.

In this work, TiO2/Ti2O3 composite catalysts were prepared by simple one-step thermal treatment method at various temperatures. The morphology and structure of as-prepared samples have been examined by XRD, TGA and SEM. The XRD characterization results revealed three-phase mixture in sample treated at 550°C, while at 650°C phase transformation from TiO2 anatase to TiO2 rutile and particle size growth was observed. Moreover, the effect of treatment temperature on the photocatalytic degradation of caffeine was evaluated under UV light irradiation. Results indicated that TiO2/Ti2O3-550 exhibited higher catalytic activity than others achieving complete caffeine removal in 60 min.

In this study, ternary systems of M1M2TiO2 (M1:Co, Cu, Zn) M2 (WO3, MoO3) were prepared and tested for the photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole. It was found that W-oxo species can be used without significant alteration of the TiO2 activity, while only Cu is a possible candidate for the ternary system either due to its chemical hardness and/or its p-type semiconducting nature.