Mesocrystalline TiO<sub>2</sub>/sepiolite composites for the effective degradation of methyl orange and methylene blue

doi:10.1007/s11706-018-0429-9

Front. Mater. Sci.

2018, Vol. 12

Issue (3) : 292-303 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-018-0429-9

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Mesocrystalline TiO₂/sepiolite composites for the effective degradation of methyl orange and methylene blue

Ruirui LIU(

), Zhijiang JI(

), Jing WANG, Jinjun ZHANG

State Key Laboratory of Green Building Materials, China Building Materials Academy, Beijing 100024, China

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Abstract

Mesocrystalline TiO₂/sepiolite (TiS) composites with the function of adsorption and degradation of liquid organic pollutants were successfully fabricated via a facile and low-cost solvothermal reaction. The prepared TiS composites were characterized by FESEM, HRTEM, XRD, XPS, N₂ adsorption–desorption, UV-vis DRS, and EPR. Results revealed the homogeneous dispersion of highly reactive TiO₂ mesocrystals on the sepiolite nanofibers. Thereinto each single-crystal-like TiO₂ mesocrystal comprised many [001]-oriented anatase nanoparticles about 10–20 nm in diameter. The photocatalytic activity was further evaluated by the degradation of anionic dye (methyl orange) and cationic dye (methylene blue) under the UV-vis light (350≤λ≤780 nm) irradiation. By selecting appropriate experimental conditions, we can easily manipulate the photocatalytic performance of TiS composites. The optimal TiS catalyst (the sepiolite content of 28.5 wt.%, and the reaction time of 24 h) could efficiently degrade methyl orange to 90.7% after 70 min, or methylene blue to 97.8% after 50 min, under UV-vis light irradiation. These results can be attributed to their synergistic effect of high crystallinity, large specific surface area, abundant hydroxyl radicals, and effective photogenerated charge separation.

Keywords TiO₂/sepiolite mesocrystal solvothermal composites photocatalysis

Corresponding Author(s): Ruirui LIU,Zhijiang JI

Online First Date: 27 July 2018 Issue Date: 10 September 2018

Cite this article:

Ruirui LIU,Zhijiang JI,Jing WANG, et al. Mesocrystalline TiO₂/sepiolite composites for the effective degradation of methyl orange and methylene blue[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2018, 12(3): 292-303.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-018-0429-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2018/V12/I3/292

Tab.1 The chemical compositions of sepiolite

Fig.1 FESEM images of (a) sepiolite, (b) TiS3, (c) TiS4, and (d) TiS3-12h.

Fig.2 HRTEM images of (a)(b) TiO₂, (c)(d) TiS3, and (e)(f) TiS3-12h. The inset in (f) shows the SAED pattern of TiS3-12h.

Fig.3 XRD patterns: (a) TiO₂, TiS1, TiS2, TiS3, TiS4, and sepiolite; (b) TiS3-2h and TiS3-12h.

Fig.4 XPS spectra of TiS3: (a) survey spectrum; (b) Ti 2p; (c) O 1s.

Fig.5 (a) N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms and (b) corresponding BJH pore size distribution curves of TiO₂, TiS2, TiS3, TiS4 and sepiolite. (c) N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms and (d) corresponding BJH pore size distribution curves of TiS3-2h and TiS3-12h.

Tab.2 The physicochemical and optical properties of as-prepared materials

Fig.6 (a) UV-vis DRS of samples. (b) EPR spectra of TiS3 under UV light and natural light.

Fig.7 Degradation profiles of (a) MO and (b) MB over TiS composites with different sepiolite contents under UV-vis light irradiation. (c) The influence of pH on the zeta potential of TiS3.

Fig.8 UV-vis spectra of MO in the presence of (a) TiS3-2h, (b) TiS3-12h and (c) TiS3 under UV-vis light irradiation at different time intervals. (d) Comparison of photocatalytic activities of above samples for the degradation of MO under UV-vis light irradiation.

Fig.9 (a) Photocatalytic activity of TiS3 on MO during the 4-cycle photodegradation. (b) XRD patterns of the fresh and used TiS3 catalyst before and after degradation of MO.

Fig.10 The active-species trapping tests of TiS3 in the degradation of (a) MO and (b) MB.

Fig.11 The possible photocatalytic mechanism of mesocrystalline TiS composites in the degradation of organic dyes.

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