Sunlight active cellulose/g-C3N4/TiO2nano-photocatalyst for simultaneous degradation of methylene blue dye and atenolol drug in real wastewater

One-Pot Synthesis of Cellulose-Based Carbon Aerogel Loaded with TiO2 and g-C3N4 and Its Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B

A cellulose-based carbon aerogel (CTN) loaded with titanium dioxide (TiO2) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was prepared using sol-gel, freeze-drying, and high-temperature carbonization methods. The formation of the sol-gel was carried out through a one-pot method using refining papermaking pulp, tetrabutyl titanate, and urea as raw materials and hectorite as a cross-linking and reinforcing agent. Due to the cross-linking ability of hectorite, the carbonized aerogel maintained a porous structure and had a large specific surface area with low density (0.0209 g/cm3). The analysis of XRD, XPS, and Raman spectra revealed that the titanium dioxide (TiO2) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) were uniformly distributed in the CTN, while TEM and SEM observations demonstrated the uniformly distributed three-dimensional porous structure of CTN. The photocatalytic activity of the CTN was determined according to its ability to degrade rhodamine B. The removal rate reached 89% under visible light after 120 min. In addition, the CTN was still stable after five reuse cycles. The proposed catalyst exhibits excellent photocatalytic performance under visible light conditions.

Enhanced solar light-driven photocatalysis of norfloxacin using Fe-doped TiO2: RSM optimization, DFT simulations, and toxicity study

This study investigates the photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin (NFX) utilizing Fe-doped TiO2 nanocomposite under natural sunlight. TiO2-based photocatalysts were synthesized using chemical precipitation varying Fe-dopant concentration and characterized in detail. Theoretical modelling, centred on density functional theory (DFT), elucidated that Fe ions within the TiO2 lattice are effectively confined, thereby narrowing the wide band gap of TiO2. The findings strongly support that Fe3+ ions augmented the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 by facilitating an intermediate interfacial route for electron and hole transfer, particularly up to an optimal dopant concentration of 1.5 M%. Subsequently, a three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) was developed to determine the initial pH, optimal catalyst concentration, and drug dosage. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was employed to identify reaction intermediates, thereby establishing a potential degradation pathway. Notably, sustained recyclability was achieved, with 82% degradation efficiency maintained over five cycles. Additionally, the toxicity of degradation intermediates was evaluated through bacterial and phytotoxicity tests, affirming the environmental safety of treated water. In vitro toxicity of the nanomaterial was also examined, emphasizing its environmental implications. Scavenger experiments revealed that hole and hydroxyl radicals were the primary active species in Fe-TiO2-based photocatalysis. Furthermore, the antibacterial potential of the synthesized catalyst was assessed using Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to observe their respective antibacterial responses.

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Flower-like MnMoO4 Nanostructures and Their Photocatalytic Performance

This article describes an affordable method for the synthesis of MnMoO4 nanoflowers through the microwave synthesis approach. By manipulating the reaction parameters like solvent, pH, microwave power, and irradiation duration along this pathway, various nanostructures can be acquired. The synthesized nanoflowers were analyzed by using a powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) to determine their crystalline nature, morphological and functional group, and optical properties, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was performed for the examination of elemental composition and chemical states by qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results of the investigations demonstrated that the MnMoO4 nanostructures with good crystallinity and distinct shape were formed successfully. The synthesized MnMoO4 nanoflowers were tested for their efficiency as a photocatalyst in the degradation studies of methylene blue (MB) as model organic contaminants in an aqueous medium under visible light, which showed their photocatalytic activity with a degradation of 85%. Through the band position calculations using the electronegative value of MnMoO4, the photocatalytic mechanism of the nanostructures was proposed. The results indicated that the effective charge separation, and transfer mechanisms, in addition to the flower-like shape, were responsible for the photocatalytic performance. The stability of the recovered photocatalyst was examined through its recyclability in the degradation of MB. Leveraging MnMoO4's photocatalytic properties, future studies may focus on scaling up these processes for practical and large-scale environmental remediation.

TiO2 nanorods decorated Si nanowire hierarchical structures for UV light activated photocatalytic application

Water remediation techniques like photolysis have recently piqued the interest of many researchers due to water contamination resulting from heavy industrialization and urbanization. In the current work, as-synthesized TiO2 nanorod decorated vertically aligned silicon nanowire (SiNW) leads to a hierarchical morphological structure formation. The photocatalytic nature of the fabricated SiNW/TiO2 nanoheterojunction is examined by the dye degradation of textile pollutants like methylene blue (MB), rhodamine B (RhB), and eosin B (EB). The catalytic dye degradation investigations revealed that 4 h hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2 on the surface of SiNW (ST4) exhibited excellent catalytic behaviour. In the presence of H2O2 and UV irradiation, the ST4 nanoheterostructure can degrade 98.89% of the model pollutant methylene blue (MB) in 15 min, demonstrating remarkable photocatalytic performance. The direct Z-scheme heterojunction exhibited by the SiNW/TiO2 structure facilitates a more efficient charge transfer mechanism with higher reducing and oxidizing ability leading to enhanced photocatalytic behaviour. The degradation pathway examined by LC-MS studies demonstrated the complete breakdown of the organic MB dye molecules ultimately mineralizing into CO2, H2O, and other inorganic substances. The photocatalyst ST4 exhibited excellent reusability and stability after multiple cycles of dye degradation enabling its use in practical water purification purposes.