Synthesis of titanate nanofibers co-sensitized with ZnS and Bi 2 S 3 nanocrystallites and their application on pollutants removal

Abstract

Highlights• New Bi 2 S 3 -ZnS/TNF nanocomposite materials with different layouts were prepared• The ability of the Bi 2 S 3 -ZnS/TNF samples to produce hydroxyl radical was studied • The samples' adsorption/photocatalytic activity for MB removal was investigated • The co-sensitized Bi 2 S 3 ZnS/TNF sample is the best adsorbent/photocatalyst ABSTRACT The synthesis of nanocomposite materials combining titanate nanofibers (TNF) with nanocrystalline ZnS and Bi 2 S 3 semiconductors is described in this work. The TNF were produced via hydrothermal synthesis and sensitized with the semiconductor nanoparticles, through a single-source precursor decomposition method. ZnS and Bi 2 S 3 nanoparticles were successfully grown onto the TNF's surface and Bi 2 S 3 -ZnS/TNF nanocomposite materials with different layouts. The samples' photocatalytic performance was first evaluated through the production of the hydroxyl radical using terephthalic acid as probe molecule. All the tested samples show photocatalytic ability for the production of this oxidizing species. Afterwards, the samples were investigated for the removal of methylene blue. The nanocomposite materials with best adsorption ability were the ZnS/TNF and Bi 2 S 3 ZnS/TNF. The dye removal was systematically studied, and the most promising results were obtained considering a Present address: Istituto per lo Studio delle Macromolecole, a sequential combination of an adsorption-photocatalytic degradation process using the Bi 2 S 3 ZnS/TNF powder as a highly adsorbent and photocatalyst material.

Influence of Re and Ru doping on the structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of nanocrystalline TiO2

“…The photodegradation experiments were conducted using a 250 mL refrigerated photo-reactor [11]. As a radiation source, it was used a 450 W Hanovia medium-pressure mercury-vapour lamp, the total irradiated energy being 40-48% in the ultraviolet range and 40-43% in the visible region.…”

“…Among them, semiconductor heterogeneous photocatalysis has enormous potential to treat organic contaminants, having gained growing acceptance as an effective wastewater treatment method to degrade a broad variety of harmful compounds. Although a wide variety of semiconductors have been reported to be effective photocatalysts [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], TiO 2 is still the most widely used semiconductor in photocatalysis because it is a cost effective non-toxic compound, chemically and biologically inert, thermally stable, superhydrophilic, and capable of promoting the oxidation of numerous organic compounds [14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Electrospinning of nanofibrous layers of As-S chalcogenide glass

“…Preparation of polycrystalline semiconducting chalcogenides nanofibers, among the existing chalcogenide materials, has been reported: (i) by electrospinning of a polymer followed by a galvanic displacement of Bi 2 Te 3 [18] used for thermo-electric applications, (ii) by electrospinning from solution mixtures with polymers, and (iii) by electrospinning of semiconducting chalcogenides such as Bi 2 S 3 , ZnS [19] for applications in novel sensors, super-capacitors, or batteries.…”

“…In this paper, we describe preparation of isolated nanofibers and/or nanofibrous layers of amorphous chalcogenide [20] As 3 S 7 by electrospinning from propylamine solutions of the glass. The layers were deposited directly without a need for employing other processed such as sintering or pyrolysis of precurssors or galvanic displacement of polymer nanofiber templates for inorganic material as it is usual in the case of fabrication of nanofibrous layers of semiconducting chalcogenide materials [18,19].…”

Novel one-pot synthesis and sensitisation of new BiOCl–Bi2S3 nanostructures from DES medium displaying high photocatalytic activity

“…38 Briefly, a 250 mL refrigerated photoreactor using a 450 W Hanovia medium pressure mercury-vapour lamp was used as radiation source. The total irradiated energy was 40-48% in the ultraviolet range and 40-43% in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.…”