Enriched Catalytic Activity of TiO2 Nanoparticles Supported by Activated Carbon for Noxious Pollutant Elimination

Suriyaprabha Rajendran; Gajendra Kumar Inwati; Virendra Kumar Yadav; Nisha Choudhary; Mitesh B Solanki; Magda H Abdellattif; Krishna Kumar Yadav; Neha Gupta; Saiful Islam; Byong-Hun Jeon

doi:10.3390/nano11112808

Enriched Catalytic Activity of TiO₂ Nanoparticles Supported by Activated Carbon for Noxious Pollutant Elimination

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Oct 22;11(11):2808. doi: 10.3390/nano11112808.

Affiliations

¹ School of Nanosciences, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar 302030, Gujarat, India.
² Department of Chemistry, D. P. Chaturvedi College, Rani Durgavati University, Seoni, Jabalpur 480661, Madhya Pradesh, India.
³ Department of Microbiology, School of Sciences, P P Savani University, Kosamba 394125, Gujarat, India.
⁴ Step-Up Jewels PVT. Ltd. Khatodara Gate, Surat 395002, Gujarat, India.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Faculty of Science and Technology, Madhyanchal Professional University, Ratibad, Bhopal 462044, Madhya Pradesh, India.
⁷ Institute of Environment and Development Studies, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi 284128, Uttar Pradesh, India.
⁸ Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea.

Abstract

Cleaning wastewater has become one of the most serious issues for a number of scientists and researchers in recent years, as water is the most basic need for the daily life of humans. There has been a focus on the removal of noxious pollutants from wastewater effluents by using nanocatalysts owing to their unique physicochemical actions and stability. Herein we manufactured TiO₂ nanoparticles supported by activated carbon (AC-TiO₂) using a cost-effective sonochemical method. The band structures of the AC-TiO₂ and TiO₂ were modified from 3.2 to 3.1 eV, thus increasing the catalytic activity. The structural, optical and anatase crystal phase properties, with morphological confirmation, were studied by applying UV-DRS, PL, FESEM, XRD, along with HRTEM, respectively. The specific surface area, calculated by BET analysis, was found to be ~241 m²/gm and ~46 m²/gm for AC-TiO₂ and TiO₂. The degradation efficiency of the as-prepared nanocatalysts against the very toxic but rarely studied organic textile dye pollutant RO 84 was investigated and 97% efficiency were found for the AC-TiO₂ as compared to pure TiO₂, which is a highly appreciated finding in the catalytic dye degradation application domain. Such surface-modified nanocatalysts could be further implemented for the treatment of wastewaters/waste effluents released from chemical industries, laboratories and other sources.

Keywords: activated carbon; anatase; effluent; nanocatalysts; titania.