High performance sulfur, nitrogen and carbon doped mesoporous anatase-brookite TiO₂ photocatalyst for the removal of microcystin-LR under visible light irradiation

J Hazard Mater. 2014 Sep 15:280:723-33. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.08.038. Epub 2014 Aug 30.

Abstract

Carbon, nitrogen and sulfur (C, N and S) doped mesoporous anatase-brookite nano-heterojunction titania photocatalysts have been synthesized through a simple sol-gel method in the presence of triblock copolymer Pluronic P123. XRD and Raman spectra revealed the formation of anatase and brookite mixed phases. XPS spectra indicated the presence of C, N and S dopants. The TEM images demonstrated the formation of almost monodisperse titania nanoparticles with particle sizes of approximately 10nm. N2 isotherm measurements confirmed that both doped and undoped titania anatase-brookite materials have mesoporous structure. The photocatalytic degradation of the cyanotoxin microcystin-LR (MC-LR) has been investigated using these novel nanomaterials under visible light illumination. The photocatalytic efficiency of the mesoporous titania anatase-brookite photocatalyst dramatically increased with the addition of the C, N and S non-metal, achieving complete degradation (∼ 100 %) of MC-LR. The results demonstrate the advantages of the synthetic approach and the great potential of the visible light activated C, N, and S doped titania photocatalysts for the treatment of organic micropollutants in contaminated waters under visible light.

Keywords: Brookite–anatase heterojunction; Microcystin-LR; Non-metal doped; Photodegradation; Visible light; Water treatment..

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Carbon / chemistry
  • Light
  • Microcystins / chemistry*
  • Microcystins / radiation effects
  • Nitrogen / chemistry
  • Photolysis*
  • Sulfur / chemistry
  • Titanium / chemistry*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / radiation effects

Substances

  • Microcystins
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • titanium dioxide
  • Sulfur
  • Carbon
  • Titanium
  • Nitrogen