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Enhanced Photocatalytic Efficiency of N-F-Co-Embedded Titania under Visible Light Exposure for Removal of Indoor-Level Pollutants.

ABSTRACT: N-F-co-embedded titania (N-F-TiO₂) photocatalysts with varying N:F ratios were synthesized and tested for their ability to photocatalyze the degradation of pollutants present at indoor air levels using visible light. The synthesis was achieved using a solvothermal process with tetrabutyl titanate, urea and ammonium fluoride as sources of Ti, N and F, respectively. Three selected volatile organic compounds (toluene, ethyl benzene and o-xylene) were selected as the test pollutants. The prepared composites were characterized using X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Ultra-violet (UV)-visible spectroscopy. The photocatalytic degradation efficiencies of N-F-TiO₂ composites were higher than those obtained using pure TiO₂ and N-TiO₂. Moreover, these efficiencies increased as the N:F ratio decreased from sixteen to eight, then decreased as it dropped further to three, indicating the presence of an optimal N:F ratio. Meanwhile, as retention time decreased from 12.4 to 0.62 s, the average photocatalytic efficiencies decreased from 65.4% to 21.7%, 91.5% to 37.8% and 95.8% to 44.7% for toluene, ethyl benzene and o-xylene, respectively. In contrast, the photocatalytic reaction rates increased as retention time decreased. In consideration of all of these factors, under optimized operational conditions, the prepared N-F-TiO₂ composites could be utilized for the degradation of target pollutants at indoor air levels using visible light.

SUBMITTER: Shin SH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5455237 | biostudies-other | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:In this work, we report the facile, environmentally friendly, room-temperature (RT) synthesis of porous CuO nanosheets and their application as a photocatalyst to degrade an organic pollutant/food dye using NaBH4 as the reducing agent in an aqueous medium. Ultrahigh-resolution field effect scanning electron microscopy images of CuO displayed a broken nanosheet-like (a length of ∼160 nm, a width of ∼65 nm) morphology, and the lattice strain was estimated to be ∼1.24 × 10-3 using the Williamson-Hall analysis of X-ray diffraction plots. Owing to the strong quantum size confinement effect, CuO nanosheets resulted in an optical energy band gap of ∼1.92 eV, measured using Tauc plots of the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrum, resulting in excellent photocatalytic efficiency. The RT synthesized CuO catalyst showed a high Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area of 30.88 ± 0.2313 m2/g (a correlation coefficient of 0.99972) with an average Barrett-Joyner-Halenda pore size of ∼20.385 nm. The obtained porous CuO nanosheets exhibited a high crystallinity of 73.5% with a crystallite size of ∼12 nm and was applied as an efficient photocatalyst for degradation of the organic pollutant/food dye, Allura Red AC (AR) dye, as monitored by UV-vis spectrophotometric analysis and evidenced by a color change from red to colorless. From UV-vis spectra, CuO nanosheets exhibited an efficient and ultrafast photocatalytic degradation efficiency of ∼96.99% for the AR dye in an aqueous medium within 6 min at RT. According to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model, photodegradation reaction kinetics followed a pseudo-first-order reaction with a rate constant of k = 0.524 min-1 and a half-life (t 1/2) of 2.5 min for AR dye degradation in the aqueous medium. The CuO nanosheets showed an outstanding recycling ability for AR degradation and would be highly favorable and an efficient catalyst due to the synergistic effect of high adsorption capability and photodegradation of the food dye.

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Enhanced Photocatalytic Efficiency of N-F-Co-Embedded Titania under Visible Light Exposure for Removal of Indoor-Level Pollutants.

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