Facile Synthesis of Hierarchical Porous TiO₂ Ceramics with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance for Micropolluted Pesticide Degradation

Abstract

In this research, hierarchical porous TiO2 ceramics were successfully synthesized through a camphene-based freeze-drying route. The well-dispersed TiO2 slurries were first frozen and dried at room temperature, followed by high-temperature sintering. The ceramics were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Results indicated that the obtained TiO2 ceramics could inhibit undesirable anatase-to-rutile phase transformation and grain growth even at temperatures as high as 800 °C. In this experiment, optimal compressive strength and porosity of the TiO2 ceramics were produced with the initial TiO2 slurry content of ∼15 wt %. The resultant TiO2 ceramics performed excellently in the photodegradation of atrazine and thiobencarb, and the total organic carbon removal efficiency was up to 95.7% and 96.7%, respectively. More importantly, the TiO2 ceramics were easily recyclable. No obvious changes of the photocatalytic performance were observed after six cycles. Furthermore, the ceramics also effectively degraded other pesticides such as dimethoate, lindane, dipterex, malathion, and bentazone. These hierarchical porous TiO2 ceramics have potential applications in environmental cleanup.

A meta-analysis of the mechanical properties of ice-templated ceramics and metals

“…References for the data: water [8, 12, 26, 27, 31, 33–38, 43–49, 51, 52, 55–61, 68, 69, 72–76, 81, 84, 86–92, 94–101, 103, 104, 111, 113, 116, 119, 124, 128–132, 134, 135], camphene [9, 29, 30, 42, 50, 64–67, 70, 80, 85, 93, 102, 105–109, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120–123, 125–127, 136], TBA [10, 32, 39–41, 53, 62, 63, 71, 77, 78, 82, 83, 110, 137]. The marker size is proportional to the pore size.…”

“…The papers analyzed cover a variety of materials including ceramics (alumina [8–11, 26, 28, 32, 36, 38, 43, 48, 54, 58, 77, 81, 89, 102, 104, 105, 111, 112, 131, 143], zirconia [49, 80, 100, 101, 103, 125–127], silicon carbide [45, 106, 130], silicon nitride [35, 69, 72, 75, 76, 79, 84, 87, 88, 128], mullite [90, 110, 124, 137], hydroxyapatite [12, 37, 44, 52, 61, 68, 78, 86, 91, 95–98, 107, 109, 113, 115, 120, 134, 135], tri-calcium phosphate [31, 40, 56, 117, 118], lead zirconate titanate (PZT) [39, 63, 74, 82, 83, 121, 122], barium titanate [73], silica/kaolinite [47], titania [24, 29, 50, 99], zirconium diboride [51], chromium carbide [42], sialon [64, 66], lithium iron phosphate [60], yttrium orthosilicate [57, 62], cermets [116, …”

High thermostable ordered mesoporous SiO2–TiO2 coated circulating-bed biofilm reactor for unpredictable photocatalytic and biocatalytic performance

“…It is well-known that high crystallinity of anatase TiO 2 , which possesses less surface defects, is one of the critical factors in improving photocatalysis [23,24]. However, the high crystallinity requires high calcinations temperature.…”

Enhancement of the intrinsic photocatalytic activity of TiO2 in the degradation of 1,3,5-triazine herbicides by doping with N,F

“…Titanium dioxide is one of the preferred semiconductors for water purification by photocatalytic approach [10][11][12] for the low toxicity, chemical stability and superior performance. Atrazine removal by photocatalytic treatment with TiO 2 -based photocatalysts has been studied by various authors, also very recently [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Conventional TiO 2 has a band gap, e.g.…”