Selective growth of Ti3+/TiO2/CNT and Ti3+/TiO2/C nanocomposite for enhanced visible-light utilization to degrade organic pollutants by lowering TiO2-bandgap

Abstract

A convenient route was developed for the selective preparation of two stable nanocomposites, Ti3+/TiO2/CNT (labeled as TTOC-1 and TTOC-3) and Ti3+/TiO2/carbon layer (labeled as TTOC-2), from the same precursor by varying the amount of single-walled carbon nanotubes used in the synthesis. TiO2 is an effective photocatalyst; however, its wide bandgap limits its usefulness to the UV region. As a solution to this problem, our prepared nanocomposites exhibit a small bandgap and wide visible-light (VL) absorption because of the introduction of carbonaceous species and Ti3+ vacancies. The photocatalytic efficiency of the nanocomposites was examined via the degradation of methylene blue dye under VL. Excellent photocatalytic activity of 83%, 98%, and 93% was observed for TTOC-1, TTOC-2, and TTOC-3 nanocomposites within 25 min. In addition, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of TTOC-2 toward methyl orange, phenol, rhodamine B, and congo red was 28%, 69%, 71%, and 91%, respectively, under similar experimental conditions after 25 min. Higher reusability and structural integrity of the as-synthesized photocatalyst were confirmed within five consecutive runs by photocatalytic test and X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively. The resulting nanocomposites provide new insights into the development of VL-active and stable photocatalysts with high efficiencies.

Fabrication of Robust and Stable N-Doped ZnO/Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Characterization, Photocatalytic Application, Kinetics, Degradation Products, and Toxicity Analysis

“… 28 Among the three compounds, NZO/CNT possesses the least intensity because it is an electron trapper that helps to reduce the recombination effect. 6 Finally, the electron separation and transfer are enhanced with the decrease in e – –h + pair recombination, improving the photocatalytic effectiveness of the materials. Therefore, the NZO/CNT composite might provide a higher photocatalytic performance than ZnO and NZO.…”

“…Doping substances produce numerous electron traps that suppress the recombination of e – –h + pairs . Among the three compounds, NZO/CNT possesses the least intensity because it is an electron trapper that helps to reduce the recombination effect . Finally, the electron separation and transfer are enhanced with the decrease in e – –h + pair recombination, improving the photocatalytic effectiveness of the materials.…”

“…Numerous dye treatment techniques have been used to completely mineralize dyes, including photocatalytic degradation, biodegradation, electrolysis, ozonization, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, adsorption, chemical oxidation, and coagulation. , However, unfortunately, most of these techniques are nondestructive and merely transfer contaminants from one form to another . Among these approaches, the advanced oxidation process by heterogeneous photocatalysis of semiconductors is suitable as a green and sustainable process for converting a variety of inorganic contaminants and organic dyes into environmentally friendly products.…”

Highly Efficient and Sustainable ZnO/CuO/g-C3N4 Photocatalyst for Wastewater Treatment under Visible Light through Heterojunction Development

“…This is why numerous research teams are trying to find a sustainable method to resolve this serious issue. The traditional approaches, including adsorption, sand filtration, coagulation/flocculation, precipitation, biodegradation, etc., are familiar methods used to eradicate the contaminants from wastewater [3,4]. Nevertheless, the sustainability of most of these conventional methods is in doubt because they require a huge amount of catalyst.…”

All-Electrochem-Active Thick Electrode with Dual-Continuous TiO2-Carbon Integrated Skeletons for Low-Temperature Lithium Storage

“…Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of the D-R-A-TiO 2 heterojunctions was shown in Figure g, h. The nanoparticles are consisted of spherical rutile and square shapes anatase. Notably, a thin boundary layer around the TiO 2 grain serves as a “protective barrier”, which avoids particle aggregation, reduces contact resistance, and prevents electrode pulverization and further formation of SEI film. Through the analysis of interplanar spacing in Figure h, the lattice fringes with the spacings of 0.325 and 0.169 nm were indexed to (110) lattice plane and (211) plane of rutile, respectively, and additional lattice fringes with the spacings of 0.352 nm were indexed to (101) lattice plane of anatase.…”