Multi-modal mesoporous TiO(2)-ZrO(2) composites with high photocatalytic activity and hydrophilicity

Fabrication of Graphene-Based TiO2@CeO2 and CeO2@TiO2 Core-Shell Heterostructures for Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity and Cytotoxicity

Development of light-harvesting properties and inhibition of photogenerated charge carrier recombination are of paramount significance in the photocatalytic process. In the present work, we described the synthesis of core-shell heterostructures, which are composed of titanium oxide (TiO₂) and cerium oxide (CeO₂) deposited on a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) surface as a conductive substrate. Following the synthesis of ternary rGO-CeO₂@TiO₂ and rGO-TiO₂@CeO₂ nanostructures, their photocatalytic activity was investigated toward the degradation of rhodamine B dye as an organic pollutant under UV light irradiation. The obtained structures were characterized with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy surface analysis, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Various parameters including pH, catalyst dosage, temperature, and contact time were studied for photocatalysis optimization. Heterostructures showed considerable advantages because of their high surface area and superior photocatalytic performance. In contrast, rGO-CeO₂@TiO₂ showed the highest photocatalytic activity, which is attributed to the more effective electron-hole separation and quick suppression of charge recombination at core-shell phases. A biological assay of the prepared heterostructure was performed to determine the cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and demonstrated a very low survival rate at 7.65% of cells at the 17.5 mg mL^-1 concentration of applied photocatalyst.

Preparation and Characterization of Ni/ZrTiAlOx Catalyst via Sol-Gel and Impregnation Methods for Low Temperature Dry Reforming of Methane

Recently, the dry reforming of methane (DRM) has received much attention as a conversion technology of greenhouse gases. Ni-based catalysts supported on ternary metal oxide composite (ZrTiAlOx) were prepared to improve the coke resistance properties in the DRM (CH4:CO2 = 1) at low temperature. The ZrTiAlOx supports with different ratios of Zr/Ti were prepared through the modified Pechini sol-gel method, and then the Ni was impregnated on the synthesized support via the incipient wetness impregnation method. Considering the Zr/Ti ratios, different catalytic activity and durability in the DRM were identified. The Ni/ZrTiAlOx catalyst with Zr/Ti of 2 exhibited enhanced coke inhibition property compared to the others at low temperature DRM for 50 h. The catalysts with a high Zr/Ti ratio under the same condition were rapidly deactivated, while the catalyst with a low Zr/Ti ratio showed deficient activity. It was found from temperature-programmed surface reactions (TPSR) and DRIFTS (Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy) analysis that the addition of Ti has led in to higher catalytic stability at Zr/Ti = 2, which could be as a result of oxygen vacancies generated by the ternary metal oxides. Ni/ZrTiAlOx catalyst with ratio of Zr/Ti = 2 showed high stability and good catalytic activity towards DRM for the production of syngas.

Photocatalytic degradation of the herbicide chloridazon on mesoporous titania/zirconia nanopowders

Advanced oxidation processes using semiconducting photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants are a promising approach for the remediation of pesticide-contaminated wastewater. High photodegradation efficiency and stability of the photocatalyst are of key importance for practical application of the semiconductor. In this study, mesoporous TiO₂/ZrO₂ nanopowders were synthesized via two techniques; evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) and sol-gel using triblock copolymers Pluronic P123 and F127. The photodegradation activities of the composites were determined by employing the herbicide chloridazon as a model compound. Due to well-developed mesoporosity, the TiO₂/ZrO₂ nanocomposite synthesized by EISA displays high surface area and small crystallite sizes leading to higher photocatalytic activity than pristine TiO₂ prepared under similar condition and commercial Degussa P25 nanopowder. The optimum amount of zirconium required for the highest activities was identified and found to be 0.14 and 0.05 mol% for the EISA and sol-gel-prepared samples, respectively. Systematic studies of the post-thermal treatment step for both samples show that Zr inhibits an anatase-to-rutile phase transition only up to 600 °C, at higher temperature phase separation occurs. Samples synthesized by EISA method showed enhanced degradation activity than sol-gel-synthesized samples.

Titania-Based Hybrid Materials with ZnO, ZrO₂ and MoS₂: A Review

Titania has properties that enable it to be used in a variety of applications, including self-cleaning surfaces, air and water purification systems, hydrogen evolution, and photoelectrochemical conversion. In order to improve the properties of titanium dioxide, modifications are made to obtain oxide/hybrid systems that are intended to have the properties of both components. In particular, zinc oxide, zirconia and molybdenum disulfide have been proposed as the second component of binary systems due to their antibacterial, electrochemical and photocatalytic properties. This paper presents a review of the current state of knowledge on the synthesis and practical utility of TiO₂-ZnO and TiO₂-ZrO₂ oxide systems and TiO₂-MoS₂ hybrid materials. The first part focuses on the hydrothermal method; then a review is made of the literature on the synthesis of the aforementioned materials using the sol-gel method. In the last section, the literature on the electrospinning method of synthesis is reviewed. The most significant physico-chemical, structural and dispersive-morphological properties of binary hybrid systems based on TiO₂ are described. A key aim of this review is to indicate the properties of TiO₂-ZnO, TiO₂-ZrO₂ and TiO₂-MoS₂ hybrid systems that have the greatest importance for practical applications. The variety of utilities of titania-based hybrid materials is emphasized.

Fabrication of Zr-doped TiO2/chitosan composite catalysts with enhanced visible-light-mediated photoactivity for the degradation of Orange II dye

Zirconium/titanium/chitosan (Zr/Ti/CHT) composite catalysts were synthesized by sol-gel method using different chitosan amounts (5-20 wt.%) and their activity in the photocatalytic degradation of Orange II dye was evaluated for the first time. The results were compared with Zr/Ti, Zr/CHT and Ti/CHT catalysts. The composite catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. XRD analysis revealed that the Zr/Ti/CHT composite catalyst showed high crystallinity of anatase TiO₂ phase. Photocatalytic experiments showed that adding CHT into the catalyst structure increased the photocatalytic degradation under visible light irradiation. Also, the first-order reaction rate constant, k_app, was calculated using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) equation. The k_app values were found to be 0.009, 0.0013, 0.012 and 0.014 min^-1 for Zr/Ti, Zr/CHT, Ti/CHT and Zr/Ti/CHT, respectively. According to stability tests, after the first cycle Orange II dye degradation was found to be 95%, while it was 37% after the fifth cycle. The results showed that the composite catalyst could be used several times for Orange II dye degradation.

Catalytic behaviour of TiO2–ZrO2 binary oxide synthesized by sol–gel process for glucose conversion to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

A combination of TiO₂–ZrO₂ and Amberlyst 70 remarkably catalyzes glucose conversion to HMF in a biphasic media.

Aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition of a ZrO2–TiO2 composite thin film with enhanced photocatalytic activity

ZrO₂–TiO₂ composite thin film deposited via aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition showed enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to pure anatase TiO₂. The photocatalytic properties were determined using resasurin redox dye.

Nanocomposite coatings on biomedical grade stainless steel for improved corrosion resistance and biocompatibility

The 316 L stainless steel is one of the most commonly available commercial implant materials with a few limitations in its ease of biocompatibility and long-standing performance. Hence, porous TiO(2)/ZrO(2) nanocomposite coated over 316 L stainless steels was studied for their enhanced performance in terms of its biocompatibility and corrosion resistance, following a sol-gel process via dip-coating technique. The surface composition and porosity texture was studied to be uniform on the substrate. Biocompatibility studies on the TiO(2)/ZrO(2) nanocomposite coatings were investigated by placing the coated substrate in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The immersion procedure resulted in the complete coverage of the TiO(2)/ZrO(2) nanocomposite (coated on the surface of 316 L stainless steel) with the growth of a one-dimensional (1D) rod-like carbonate-containing apatite. The TiO(2)/ZrO(2) nanocomposite coated specimens showed a higher corrosion resistance in the SBF solution with an enhanced biocompatibility, surpassing the performance of the pure oxide coatings. The cell viability of TiO(2)/ZrO(2) nanocomposite coated implant surface was examined under human dermal fibroblasts culture, and it was observed that the composite coating enhances the proliferation through effective cellular attachment compared to pristine 316 L SS surface.

Synthesis of porous CuO-CeO2 nanospheres with an enhanced low-temperature CO oxidation activity

CuO-CeO2 nanospheres with a porous structure were synthesized by an improved urea method involving first hydrothermal treatment to get Ce-Cu binary precursor and then the calcination of the precursor. The CuO-CeO2 nanospheres consist of spherical particles with diameters in the range of 300-400 nm. These nanospheres are actually composed of nanoparticles of ca. 10 nm, resulting in the formation of a mesoporous structure. Compared with conventional urea method, in which Ce-Cu binary precursor is commonly achieved in an oil bath at appropriate temperature, the Ce-Cu binary precursor obtained via the hydrothermal process could be more highly homogeneous and more highly interdispersed CuO-CeO2 thus was formed. In addition, the resulted porous CuO-CeO2 catalyst has a lower CO oxidation temperature of as low as 71 °C.

Phase stability and photocatalytic activity of Zr-doped anatase synthesized in miniemulsion

A series of mesoporous anatase-type TiO(2) doped with zirconium (0-50 mol% Zr) was synthesized by combining the sol-gel process with the inverse miniemulsion technique. Nanoparticles between 100 and 300 nm were directly prepared from acidic precursor solutions of titanium glycolate (EGMT) and zirconium isopropoxide. The miniemulsion technique is a simple and convenient method to synthesize nanoparticles of homogeneous size because the reactions (here hydrolysis and condensation) take place in the confined space of nanodroplets (several hundreds of nanometres) and therefore in a highly controlled manner. For low doping levels (0-7.1 mol% Zr), Zr(x)Ti(1 - x)O(2) solid solutions were formed where Zr was uniformly dispersed into the anatase framework. For higher amounts of zirconium (Zr >or= 7.1 mol%), the crystallization of zirconium titanate (ZrTiO(4)) occurred at a low temperature of 650 degrees C and it was obtained as a pure material for 47.4 mol% <or= Zr <or= 50 mol%. The influence of the amount of zirconium on the crystallinity, crystallite size, phase composition and stability, morphology and specific surface area was investigated. For the characterization transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen sorption (BET) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) were used. The photocatalytic activity of the crystalline mixed oxides (0-9.4 mol% Zr) was examined for the degradation of methylene blue under UV irradiation.

Photodegradation of organic contamination in wastewaters by bonding TiO2/single-walled carbon nanotube composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Bonding TiO(2)/single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) composites have been successfully synthesized through a facile sol-solvothermal technique. The obtained materials were characterized in detail by XRD, FT-IR, Raman and TEM. The results revealed that TiO(2) and SWNCT linked compactly through ester bonds and thus improved their interfaces. Therefore, the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs was inhibited efficiently, which improved the photocatalytic activity. A reasonable mechanism was proposed to explain its formation. The photocatalytic activity was investigated utilizing rhodamine B and nitrobenzene (NB) as models for organic contamination in wastewaters. Experimental results indicated that this bonding composite exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than that of Degussa P25. The excellent photocatalytic activity could be attributed to larger surface area, smaller crystalline size, and especially the ester bonds, which was further confirmed by surface photovoltage spectroscopy. Furthermore, by adding ()OH scavenger tert-butanol, the obvious decrease of NB photodegradation indicated that NB was oxidized primarily by ()OH. The photodegradation products were identified by GC/MS, further indicating that the degradation proceeded via ()OH oxidation. A possible reaction pathway for the degradation of NB was suggested by the evidence presented in this study.

Low-temperature synthesis and characterization of TiO2 and TiO2-ZrO2 photocatalytically active thin films

Transparent TiO(2) and TiO(2)-ZrO(2) (molar ratio Zr/Ti = 0.1) thin films were produced by low-temperature sol-gel processing from nanocrystalline aqueous based solutions. The structural features and compositions of the films treated at room temperature, 100 degrees C and 500 degrees C were investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermal analysis. Addition of zirconia increased specific surface area (140-230 m(2) g(-1)) and hindered the growth of anatase crystallites, exhibiting a constant size of 6-7 nm in the whole temperature range. These significant changes with respect to pure TiO(2) in anatase crystalline form did not result in significantly and systematically different photocatalytic activity, which was evaluated in terms of aqueous pollutant degradation (azo-dye in water) and self-cleaning ability (fatty contaminant deposit). The films treated at only 100 degrees C showed excellent photocatalytic activity towards azo-dye degradation. Contact angle measurements of aged and contaminated surfaces revealed a fast or sharp hydrophilicity gain under UVA illumination. Accordingly, the results of this study confirmed the potential application of advantageous low-temperature films in water treatment as well as for self-cleaning surfaces.