Detailed photocatalytic study of alkaline titanates and its application for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under solar irradiation

Application of Biochar as Functional Material for Remediation of Organic Pollutants in Water: An Overview

In recent years, numerous studies have focused on the use of biochar as a biological material for environmental remediation due to its low-cost precursor (waste), low toxicity, and diversity of active sites, along with their facile tailoring techniques. Due to its versatility, biochar has been employed as an adsorbent, catalyst (for activating hydrogen peroxide, ozone, persulfate), and photocatalyst. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview and compare the application of biochar in water remediation. First, the biochar active sites with their functions are presented. Secondly, an overview and summary of biochar performance in treating organic pollutants in different systems is depicted. Thereafter, an evaluation on performance, removal mechanism, active sites involvement, tolerance to different pH values, stability, and reusability, and an economic analysis of implementing biochar for organic pollutants decontamination in each application is presented. Finally, potential prospects to overcome the drawbacks of each application are provided.

Effect of Cu doping on the photocatalytic activity of InVO4 for hazardous dye photodegradation under LED light and its mechanism

Cu doped InVO₄ (xCu-InVO₄ (x = 0.06-0.15 wt %) was synthesized by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method for the removal of methylene blue (MB) under LED light irradiation. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated the coexistence of V⁵⁺ and V⁴⁺ species due to the O-deficient nature of the xCu-InVO₄. The synthesized photocatalysts displayed a morphology of spherical and square shaped particles (20-40 nm) and micro-sized rectangle rods with a length range of 100-200 μm. The xCu-InVO₄ exhibited superior adsorption and photodegradation efficiency compared to pristine InVO₄ and TiO₂ due to the presence of O₂ vacancies, V⁴⁺/V⁵⁺ species, and Cu dopant. The optimum reaction conditions were found to be 5 mg L^-1 (MB concentration), pH 6, and 100 mg of photocatalyst mass with a removal efficiency and mineralization degree of 100% and 96.67%, respectively. The main active species responsible for the degradation of MB were ^•OH radicals and h⁺. Reusability studies indicated that the 0.13Cu-InVO₄ was deactivated after a single cycle of photocatalytic reaction due to significant leaching of V⁴⁺ and Cu²⁺ species.

Titanium Dioxide/Polyvinyl Alcohol/Cork Nanocomposite: A Floating Photocatalyst for the Degradation of Methylene Blue under Irradiation of a Visible Light Source

Photocatalytic degradation by the titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst attracts tremendous interest due to its promising strategy to eliminate pollutants from wastewater. The floating photocatalysts are explored as potential candidates for practical wastewater treatment applications that could overcome the drawbacks posed by the suspended TiO2 photocatalysis system. The problem occurs when the powdered TiO2 applied directly into the treated solution will form a slurry, making its reuse become a difficult step after treatment. In this study, the immobilization of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) on the floating substrate (cork) employing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a binder to anchor TiO2 NPs on the surface of the cork was carried out. Characterizations such as Fourier transformer infrared, X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), zeta potential, photoluminescence spectroscopy, femtosecond to millisecond time-resolved visible to mid-IR absorption spectroscopy, ion chromatography, and scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) analyses were employed. XRD analysis revealed the formation of anatase-phase TiO2 NPs. The results demonstrated that the crystallite size was 9.36 nm. The band gap energy of TiO2 NPs was determined as 3.0 eV. PL analysis verified that TiO2 NPs possessed a slower recombination rate of electron-hole pairs as compared to anatase TiO2. The result was attributed by the behavior of photogenerated charge carriers on TiO2 NPs, which existed as shallowly trapped electrons that could survive longer than a few milliseconds in this study. Furthermore, SEM-EDX analysis indicated that TiO2 NPs were well distributed on the surface of the cork. At the optimal mole ratio of TiO2/PVA (1:8), the TiO2/PVA/cork floating photocatalyst degraded at 98.43% of methylene blue (MB) under a visible light source which performed better than under sunlight irradiation (77.09% of MB removal) for 120 min. Besides, the mineralization result has measured the presence of sulfate anions after photocatalytic activities, which achieved 86.13% (under a visible light source) and 65.34% (under sunlight). The superior photodegradation performance for MB was mainly controlled by the reactive oxygen species of the superoxide radical (•O2 -). The degradation kinetics of MB followed the first-order kinetics. Meanwhile, the Langmuir isotherm model was fitted for the adsorption isotherm. The floating photocatalyst presented good reusability, resulting in 78.13% of MB removal efficiency even after five cycles. Our TiO2/PVA/cork floating photocatalyst fabrication and high photocatalytic performance are potentially used in wastewater treatment, especially under visible light irradiation.

Advancing of Additive-Manufactured Titanium Implants with Bioinspired Micro- to Nanotopographies

There is an increasing demand for low-cost and more efficient titanium (Ti) medical implants that will provide improved osseointegration and at the same time reduce the likelihood of infection. In the past decade, additive manufacturing (AM) using metal selective laser melting (SLM) or three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques has emerged to enable novel implant geometries or properties to overcome such potential challenges. This study presents a new surface engineering approach to create bioinspired multistructured surfaces on SLM-printed Ti alloy (Ti6Al4V) implants by combining SLM technology, electrochemical anodization, and hydrothermal (HT) processes. The resulting implants display unique surfaces with a distinctive dual micro- to nano-topography composed of micron-sized spherical features, fabricated by SLM and vertically aligned nanoscale pillar structures as a result of combining anodization and HT treatment. The fabricated implants enhanced hydroxyapatite-like mineral deposition from simulated body fluid (SBF) compared to control. In addition, normal human osteoblast-like cells (NHBCs) showed strong adhesion to the nano-/microstructures and displayed greater propensity to mineralize compared to control surfaces. This engineering approach and the resulting nature-inspired multiscale-structured surface offers desired features for improving osseointegration and antibacterial performance toward the development of next-generation orthopedic and dental implants.

A novel green approach based on ZnO nanoparticles and polysaccharides for photocatalytic performance

Novel green photocatalysts based on ZnO in the presence of arabic gum (AGZ) or karaya gum (KGZ) were synthesized by a sol-gel method for photocatalytic performance. The materials were characterized by XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, nitrogen adsorption/desorption, and PL and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Photocatalytic test was performed using methylene blue (MB) dye as the target pollutant under visible light. The reuse of photocatalysts and Artemia saline bioassays were investigated. The ZnO nanoparticles showed a hexagonal structure and the values of the band gaps were 2.95 (AGZ) and 2.98 eV (KGZ). The PL results demonstrated emission bands at 440, 473 or 478 and 549 nm. The textural properties indicated the presence of typically mesoporous materials. The MB discoloration efficiency was 81.5% and 91.0% for AGZ and KGZ, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of AGZ and KGZ was maintained after the third run. The ˙OH radicals are the main species involved in the MB discoloration. The MB discoloration from the photocatalysts showed no toxicity; therefore, they are considered to be promising materials for the degradation of the dye in the photocatalytic process.

Comparative study on photocatalytic degradation of the antidepressant trazodone using (Co, Fe and Ru) doped titanate nanowires: Kinetics, transformation products and in silico toxicity assessment

Titanate nanomaterials have been outstanding in the removal of emerging contaminants by the photocatalysis process. These photocatalysts, when modified through techniques such as doping with metals, they have advantages over TiO₂, especially in the region of visible light. In this work, the photocatalytic performance of four recent reported catalysts, pristine titanate nanowires, cobalt-doped titanate nanowires, iron-doped titanate nanowires and ruthenium-doped titanate nanowires, for the removal of the antidepressant trazodone under visible light radiation was compared. The iron-doped titanate nanowires presented the best catalytic activity by the catalyst surface area. Additionally, thirteen transformation products (TPs) were identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry and, to the best of our knowledge, nine of them have never been described in the literature. It was shown that for each catalyst different TPs were formed with distinct time profiles. Finally, toxicity assessment by computational methods showed that TPs were not readily biodegradable and they presented toxicity to aquatic organisms with mutagenic potential. These findings reinforce the importance of taking into consideration the TPs formed during the removal of pollutants since many of them may be toxic and can be produced during photocatalysis.

The Use of Ultra-Small Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles for Hydrothermal Synthesis of Fe3+-Doped Titanate Nanotubes

A method of the hydrothermal synthesis of Fe³⁺-doped titanate nanotubes (TNT) is reported in which the ultra-small Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles are used as the sources of Fe³⁺ ions. The magnetic nanoparticles with a diameter of about 2 nm are added during the washing stage of the hydrothermal procedure. During washing, they gradually degrade and at the same time, the titanate product is transformed into nanotubes. The obtained nanotubes were characterized by structural and magnetic measurements. It was found that, depending on the value of the external magnetic field, they may show the property of room temperature ferromagnetism, paramagnetism or they may be diamagnetic. It was also shown that the modified TNTs have greater photocatalytic activity compared to unmodified TNTs.

ZnO Surface Doping to Enhance the Photocatalytic Activity of Lithium Titanate/TiO2 for Methylene Blue Photodegradation under Visible Light Irradiation

Wastewater contaminated with dyes produced by textile industries is a major problem due to inadequate treatment prior to release into the environment. In this paper, the ability of ZnO to enhance the interfacial photocatalytic activity of lithium titanate/TiO2 (LTO/TiO2) for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation (4.38 mW/cm2) was assessed. The ZnO-doped lithium titanate/TiO2 (ZnO/LTO/TiO2) was synthesized using a combination of hydrothermal and wetness impregnation methods. The high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses indicate that the ZnO/LTO/TiO2 contain several phases (ZnO, LTO, and TiO2). The adsorption capacity of LTO/TiO2 (70%) was determined to be higher compared to its photocatalytic activity (25%), which is attributed to the strong interaction between the Li and surface oxygen atoms with the MB dye molecules. The introduction of ZnO improved the photocatalytic ability of LTO/TiO2 by 45% and extended the life span of ZnO/LTO/TiO2. The ZnO/LTO/TiO2 can be reused without a significant loss up to four cycles, whereas LTO/TiO2 had reduced adsorption after the second cycle by 30%. The ZnO increased the surface defects and restrained the photo-induced electrons (e−) from recombining with the photo-induced holes (h+). Scavenging tests indicated that the hydroxyl radicals played a major role in the photodegradation of MB, which is followed by electrons and holes.