Facile Growth and Characterization of TiO₂ Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Degradation of 2,3-Dichlorophenol: Experimental Optimization and Comparison with Commercial TiO₂

Abstract

This paper reports the facile synthesis and characterizations of TiO2 nanoparticles by simple sol-gel ultrasonication followed by annealing process. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized in terms of their morphological and structural properties and utilized as efficient photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of 2,3-dichlorophenol (2,3-DCP). The as-synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were annealed at 350 degrees C for various time intervals (3-5 h) and by morphological and photocatalytic performances, it was found that the nanoparticles annealed for 5 hrs exhibits best morphological and photocatalytic properties. To optimize the photocatalytic reaction parameters, several experiments based on catalyst dose (0.25-1.00 g/L), pH of the solution (pH = 3-11) and initial concentration (10-100 mg/L) have been performed using commercially available TiO2 (PC-105). Under optimized conditions, the photocatalytic performance of synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles and TiO2 (PC-105) was compared and it was found that the synthesized nanoparticles exhibits better photocatalytic properties as compared to the commercially available TiO2 (PC-105).

Photocatalytic degradation of the antibiotic levofloxacin using highly crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles

“…However, due to the excretion of these drugs and their metabolites by humans and animals, they ultimately accumulate in waste water. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The presence of such pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment is of global concern, as their long term presence can affect aquatic organisms even in low concentrations and increase the population of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in waste water. [15][16][17] Levofloxacin (LEVO) i.e.…”