Abstract
Anatase/rutile mixed-phase titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts in the form of nanostructured powders with different primary particle size, specific surface area, and rutile content were produced from the gas-phase by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) starting from an organic solution containing titanium (IV) isopropoxide as Ti precursor. Flame spray-produced TiO2 powders were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and BET measurements. As-prepared powders were mainly composed of anatase crystallites with size ranging from 7 to 15 nm according to the synthesis conditions. TiO2 powders were embedded in a multilayered fluoropolymeric matrix to immobilize the nanoparticles into freestanding photocatalytic membranes. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-embedded membranes toward the abatement of hydrosoluble organic pollutants was evaluated employing the photodegradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution as test reaction. The photoabatement rate of best performing membranes significantly overcomes that of membranes produced by the same method and incorporating commercial P25-TiO2.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aarthi T, Madras G (2007) Photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine dyes with nano-TiO2. Ind Eng Chem Res 46:7–14. doi:10.1021/ie060948n
Avataneo M, Navarrini W, De Patto U, Marchionni G (2009) Novel perfluoropolyethers containing 2,2,4-trifluoro-5-trifluoromethoxy-1,3-dioxole blocks: synthesis and characterization. J Fluor Chem 130:933–937. doi:10.1016/j.jfluchem.2009.07.007
Bahnemann D (2004) Photocatalytic water treatment: solar energy applications. Sol Energy 77:445–459. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2004.03.031
Bettini LG, Dozzi MV, Della Foglia F et al (2015) Mixed-phase nanocrystalline TiO2 photocatalysts produced by flame spray pyrolysis. Appl Catal B 178:226–232. doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2014.09.013
Chen X, Mao SS (2007) Titanium dioxide nanomaterials: synthesis, properties, modifications, and applications. Chem Rev 107:2891–2959. doi:10.1021/cr0500535
Chong MN, Jin B, Chow CWK, Saint C (2010) Recent developments in photocatalytic water treatment technology: a review. Water Res 44:2997–3027. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2010.02.039
D’Arienzo M, Carbajo J, Bahamonde A, Crippa M, Polizzi S, Scotti R, Wahba L, Morazzoni F (2011) Photogenerated defects in shape-controlled TiO2 anatase nanocrystals: a probe to evaluate the role of crystal facets in photocatalytic processes. J Am Chem Soc 133:17652–17661. doi:10.1021/ja204838s
Della Foglia F, Chiarello GL, Dozzi MV, Piseri P, Bettini LG, Vinati S, Ducati C, Milani P, Selli E (2014) Hydrogen production by photocatalytic membranes fabricated by supersonic cluster beam deposition on glass fiber filters. Int J Hydrog Energy 39:13098–13104. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.06.088
Diamanti MV, Ormellese M, Marin E, Lanzutti A, Mele A, Pedeferri MP (2011) Anodic titanium oxide as immobilized photocatalyst in UV or visible light devices. J Hazard Mater 186:2103–2109. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.12.128
Dong S, Feng J, Fan M et al (2015) Recent developments in heterogeneous photocatalytic water treatment using visible light-responsive photocatalysts: a review. RCS Adv 5:14610–14630. doi:10.1039/C4RA13734E
Giannouri M, Kalampaliki T, Todorova N, Giannakopoulou T, Boukos N, Petrakis D, Vaimakis T, Trapalis C (2013) One-step synthesis of TiO2/perlite composites by flame spray pyrolysis and their photocatalytic behavior. Int J Photoenergy. doi:10.1155/2013/729460
Groen JC, Peffer LAA, Pérez-Ramírez J (2003) Pore size determination in modified micro- and mesoporous materials. Pitfalls and limitations in gas adsorption data analysis. Micropor Mesopor Mat 60:1–17. doi:10.1016/S1387-1811(03)00339-1
Hashimoto K, Irie H, Fujishima A (2005) TiO2 photocatalysis: a historical overview and future prospects. Jpn J App Phys 44:8269. doi:10.1143/JJAP.44.8269
Hellma analytics (2016) Calibration standards for spectrophotometers. http://www.hellma-analytics.com/text/131/en/certified-reference-materials.html. Accessed 13 May 2016
Herrmann JR (1999) Heterogeneous photocatalysis: fundamentals and applications to the removal of various types of aqueous pollutants. Catal Today 53:115–129. doi:10.1016/S0920-5861(99)00107-8
Hurum DC, Agrios AG, Gray KA, Rajh T, Thurnauer MC (2003) Explaining the enhanced photocatalytic activity of Degussa P25 mixed-phase TiO2 using EPR. J Phys Chem B 107:4545–4549. doi:10.1021/jp0273934
Iglesias-Juez A, Viñes F, Lamiel-García O, Fernández-García M, Illas F (2015) Morphology effects in photoactive ZnO nanostructures: photooxidative activity of polar surfaces. J Mater Chem A 3:8782–8792. doi:10.1039/C5TA01111F
Kho YK, Iwase A, Teoh WY, Mädler L, Kudo A, Amal R (2010) Photocatalytic H2 evolution over TiO2 nanoparticles. The synergistic effect of anatase and rutile. J Phys Chem C 114:2821–2829. doi:10.1021/jp910810r
Lee SY, Park SJ (2013) TiO2 photocatalyst for water treatment applications. J Ind Eng Chem 19:1761–1769. doi:10.1016/j.jiec.2013.07.012
Li Bassi A, Cattaneo A, Russo V et al (2005) Raman spectroscopy characterization of titania nanoparticles produced by flame pyrolysis: the influence of size and stoichiometry. J Appl Phys 98:074305. doi:10.1063/1.2061894
Mädler L, Kammler HK, Mueller R, Pratsinis SE (2002) Controlled synthesis of nanostructured particles by flame spray pyrolysis. J Aerosol Sci 33:369–389. doi:10.1016/S0021-8502(01)00159-8
Mi Y, Weng Y (2015) Band alignment and controllable electron migration between rutile and anatase TiO2. Sci Rep 5:11482. doi:10.1038/srep11482
Mueller R, Mädler L, Pratisinis SE (2003) Nanoparticle synthesis at high production rates by flame spray pyrolysis. Chelmsf Eng Sci 58:1969–1976. doi:10.1016/S0009-2509(03)00022-8
Navarrini W, Scrosati B, Panero S, Ghielmi A, Sanguineti A, Geniram G (2008) Lithiated short side chain perfluorinated sulfonic ionomeric membranes: water content and conductivity. J Power Sources 178:783–788. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.09.110
Norros V, Karhu E, Nordén J, Vähätalo AV, Ovaskainen O (2015) Spore sensitivity to sunlight and freezing can restrict dispersal in wood-decay fungi. Ecol Evol 5:3312. doi:10.1002/ece3.1589
Ohtani B, Prieto-Mahaney OO, Li D, Abe R (2010) What is Degussa (Evonik) P25? Crystalline composition analysis, reconstruction from isolated pure particles and photocatalytic activity test. J Photochem Photobiol A 216:179–182. doi:10.1016/j.jphotochem.2010.07.024
Persico F, Sansotera M, Diamanti MV, Magagnin L, Venturini F, Navarrini W (2013) Effect of amorphous fluorinated coatings on photocatalytic properties of anodized titanium surfaces. Thin Solid Films 545:210–216. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2013.08.004
Persico F, Sansotera M, Bianchi CL, Cavallotti C, Navarrini W (2015) Photocatalytic activity of TiO 2-embedded fluorinated transparent coating for oxidation of hydrosoluble pollutants in turbid suspensions. Appl Catal B 170:83–89. doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2015.01.033
Roth P (2007) Particle synthesis in flames. Proc Combust Inst 31:1773–1788. doi:10.1016/j.proci.2006.08.118
Stern ST, McNeil SE (2008) Nanotechnology safety concerns revisited. Toxicol Sci 101:4–21. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfm169
Strobel R, Pratsinis SE (2007) Flame aerosol synthesis of smart nanostructured materials. J Mater Chem 17:4743–4756. doi:10.1039/B711652G
Su R, Bechstein R, Sø L et al (2011) How the anatase-to-rutile ratio influences the photoreactivity of TiO2. J Phys Chem C 115:24287–24292. doi:10.1021/jp2086768
Tahiri H, Serpone N, van Mao RL (1996) Application of concept of relative photonic efficiencies and surface characterization of a new titania photocatalyst designed for environmental remediation. J Photochem Photobiol A 93:199–203. doi:10.1016/1010-6030(95)04195-8
Tantis I, Dozzi MV, Bettini LG, Chiarello GL, Dracopoulos V, Selli E, Lianos P (2016) Highly functional titania nanoparticles produced by flame spray pyrolysis. Photoelectrochemical and solar cell applications. Appl Catal B 182:369–374. doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2015.09.040
Teoh WY, Mädler L, Beydoun D, Pratsinis SE, Amal R (2005) Direct (one-step) synthesis of TiO2 and Pt/TiO2 nanoparticles for photocatalytic mineralisation of sucrose. Chem Eng Sci 60:5852–5861. doi:10.1016/j.ces.2005.05.037
Teoh WY, Denny F, Amal R, Friedmann D, Mädler L, Pratsinis SE (2007a) Photocatalytic mineralisation of organic compounds: a comparison of flame-made TiO2 catalysts. Top Catal 44:489–497. doi:10.1007/s11244-006-0096-4
Teoh WY, Amal R, Mädler L, Pratsinis SE (2007b) Flame sprayed visible light-active Fe–TiO2 for photomineralisation of oxalic acid. Catal Today 120:203–213. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2006.07.049
Teoh WY, Amal R, Mädler L (2010) Flame spray pyrolysis: an enabling technology for nanoparticles design and fabrication. Nanoscale 2:1324–1347. doi:10.1039/C0NR00017E
van de Krol R, Liang Y, Schoonman J (2008) Solar hydrogen production with nanostructured metal oxides. J Mater Chem 18:2311–2320. doi:10.1039/B718969A
Wang X, Zhang K, Guo X, Shen G, Xiang J (2014) Synthesis and characterization of N-doped TiO2 loaded onto activated carbon fiber with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity. New J Chem 38:6139–6146. doi:10.1039/C4NJ00962B
Yue D, Qian X, Zhao Y (2015) Photocatalytic remediation of ionic pollutant. Sci Bull 60:1791–1806. doi:10.1007/s11434-015-0918-5
Zhang YH, Chan CK, Porter JF, Guo W (1998) Micro-Raman spectroscopic characterization of nanosized TiO2 powders prepared by vapor hydrolysis. J Mater Res 13:2602–2609. doi:10.1557/JMR.1998.0363
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Maria Vittoria Dozzi and Gian Luca Chiarello for assistance in BET and XRD measurements, respectively. This work was partly supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR), “National Funding for Basic Research” (FIRB RBAP11AYN) project entitled “Oxides at the nanoscale: functionalities and applications.”
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bettini, L.G., Diamanti, M.V., Sansotera, M. et al. Immobilized TiO2 nanoparticles produced by flame spray for photocatalytic water remediation. J Nanopart Res 18, 238 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-016-3551-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-016-3551-6