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Characterization of TiO2 and an as-prepared TiO2/SiO2 composite and their photocatalytic performance for the reduction of low-concentration N-NO3− in water

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Abstract

Excessive N-NO3− water pollution has become a widespread and serious problem that threatens human and ecosystem health. Here, a TiO2/SiO2 composite photocatalyst was prepared via the sol–gel/hydrothermal method. TiO2 and TiO2/SiO2 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis differential reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Afterward, the photocatalytic performance of TiO2 and TiO2/SiO2 to reduce low nitrate concentrations (30 mgN L−1) under UV light was evaluated and the effects of different factors on this process were investigated, after which the reaction conditions were optimized. Removal rates of up to 99.93% were achieved at a hole scavenger (formic acid) concentration of 0.6 mL L−1, a CO2 flow rate of 0.1 m3 h−1, and a TiO2 concentration of 0.9 g L−1. In contrast, TiO2/SiO2 at a 1.4 g L−1 concentration and a TiO2 load rate of 40% achieved a removal rate of 83.48%, but with more than 98% of nitrogen generation rate. NO2− and NH4+ were the minor products, whereas N2 was the main product.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (grant number U1906219), Shandong Province major scientific and technological innovation project (grant number 2019JZZY010723), and Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (grant number ZR2020MB087).

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Author notes

  1. Weizhang Fu and Shujuan Sun are contributed equally to this work, both corresponding authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, People’s Republic of China

    Wanzhen Zhong, Weizhang Fu, Shujuan Sun, Lingsheng Wang & Huaihao Liu

  2. School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao, 266000, China

    Wanzhen Zhong & Junzhi Wang

Authors
  1. Wanzhen Zhong
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  2. Weizhang Fu
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  5. Huaihao Liu
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Contributions

Wanzhen Zhong: conceptualization, methodology, writing — original draft. Weizhang Fu: supervision, project administration. Shujuan Sun: writing — review and editing. Lingsheng Wang: investigation, software, resources. Huaihao Liu: validation, formal analysis. Junzhi Wang: data curation, visualization.

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Correspondence to Weizhang Fu or Shujuan Sun.

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Zhong, W., Fu, W., Sun, S. et al. Characterization of TiO2 and an as-prepared TiO2/SiO2 composite and their photocatalytic performance for the reduction of low-concentration N-NO3− in water. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 40585–40598 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18793-z

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