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Property-performance relationship of core-shell structured black TiO2 photocatalyst for environmental remediation

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Abstract

Understanding the relationship between the properties and performance of black titanium dioxide with core-shell structure (CSBT) for environmental remediation is crucial for improving its prospects in practical applications. In this study, CSBT was synthesized using a glycerol-assisted sol-gel approach. The effect of different water-to-glycerol ratios (W:G = 1:0, 9:1, 2:1, and 1:1) on the semiconducting and physicochemical properties of CSBT was investigated. The effectiveness of CSBT in removing phenolic compounds (PHCs) from real agro-industrial wastewater was studied. The CSBT synthesized with a W:G ratio of 9:1 has optimized properties for enhanced removal of PHCs. It has a distinct core-shell structure and an appropriate amount of Ti3+ cations (11.18%), which play a crucial role in enhancing the performance of CSBT. When exposed to visible light, the CSBT performed better: 48.30% of PHCs were removed after 180 min, compared to only 21.95% for TiO2 without core-shell structure. The CSBT consumed only 45.5235 kWh/m3 of electrical energy per order of magnitude and cost $2.4127 per unit volume of treated agro-industrial wastewater. Under the conditions tested, the CSBT demonstrated exceptional stability and reusability. The CSBT showed promising results in the treatment of phenols-containing agro-industrial wastewater.

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Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely appreciate funding from Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R399), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi Arabia

    Sajjad Haider

  2. Department of Environmental Sciences, Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Shamsabad, Rawalpindi, 46300, Pakistan

    Rab Nawaz & Muzammil Anjum

  3. Centre of Innovative Nanostructures and Nanodevices (COINN), Institute of Autonomous System, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 32610, Malaysia

    Rab Nawaz

  4. Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, 35899, USA

    Tahir Haneef

  5. Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, 80-233, Poland

    Vipin Kumar Oad

  6. College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi Arabia

    Salah Uddinkhan

  7. Restorative Dental Sciences Department, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11545, Saudi Arabia

    Rawaiz Khan

  8. Faculty of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Topi, 23460, Pakistan

    Muhammad Aqif

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  1. Sajjad Haider
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  2. Rab Nawaz
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  3. Muzammil Anjum
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  4. Tahir Haneef
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  6. Salah Uddinkhan
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  7. Rawaiz Khan
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  8. Muhammad Aqif
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sajjad Haider or Rab Nawaz.

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Author Credit Statement

Sajjad Haider: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Data curation, Project administration, Supervision, Resources, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Rab Nawaz: Conceptualizotion, Methodology, Investigations, Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing-Original draft preparation, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Mnzammil Anjum: Supervision; Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Tahir Haneef: Investigations; Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Vipin Kumar Oad: Investigation; Methodology; Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Salah Uddinkhan: Formal analysis, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Rawaiz Khan: Investigations, Writing- Reviewing and Editing. Muhammad Aqif: Writing-Reviewing and Editing.

Highlights

• Properties and performance relationship of CSBT photocatalyst were investigated.

• Properties of CSBT were controlled by simply manipulating glycerol content.

• Performance was linked to semiconducting and physicochemical properties.

• CSBT (W:G ratio 9:1) had better performance with lower energy consumption.

• Phenols were reduced by 48.30% at a cost of $2.4127 per unit volume of effluent.

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Haider, S., Nawaz, R., Anjum, M. et al. Property-performance relationship of core-shell structured black TiO2 photocatalyst for environmental remediation. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 17, 111 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1711-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1711-3

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