Abstract
The effective charge carrier transfer process in one-dimensional (1D) NiTiO3 nanofibers and NiTiO3 nanoparticles was demonstrated experimentally, showcasing an effective photocatalytic enhancement under visible light ambience. The rhombohedral crystal structure of NiTiO3 nanostructures was confirmed using X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The morphology and optical characteristics of the synthesized nanostructures were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). Nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis corresponding to NiTiO3 nanofibers showcased porous structures with an average pore size of ~3.9 nm. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurement studies revealed an enhanced photocurrent for the NiTiO3 nanostructures, confirming enhanced charge carriers transportation in fibers than in particles due to the delocalized electrons in the conduction band, thereby hindering the photoexcited charge carrier’s recombination. The photodegradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB) dye under the visible light irradiation revealed an enhancement in the rate of degradation for NiTiO3 nanofibers when compared to NiTiO3 nanoparticles.
Graphical Abstract
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.
References
Bharathkumar S, Sakar M, Balakumar S (2015) Versatility of electrospinning in the fabrication of fibrous mat and mesh nanostructures of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) and their magnetic and photocatalytic activities. Phys Chem Chem Phys 17:17745–17754. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5CP01640A
Bharathkumar S, Sakar M, Balakumar S (2016) Experimental evidence for the carrier transportation enhanced visible light driven photocatalytic process in bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) one-dimensional fiber nanostructures. J Phys Chem C 120:18811–18821. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b04344
Bharathkumar S, Sakar M, Balakumar S (2022) Egg white-mediated synthesis of BiFeO3 cubes and their enhanced photocatalytic degradation properties under solar irradiation. J Mater Sci Mater 33:12638–12647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-08213-w
Diab KR, El-Maghrabi HH, Nada AA, Youssef AM, Hamdy A, Roualdes S, Abd El-Wahab S (2018) Facile fabrication of NiTiO3/graphene nanocomposites for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 365:86–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2018.07.040
Gautam RK, Bhattacharjee H, Mohan SV, Verma A (2016) Nitrogen doped graphene supported α-MnO2 nanorods for efficient ORR in a microbial fuel cell. RSC Adv 6:110091–110101. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6RA23392A
Gong J, Hao Y, Li L, Xue S, Xie P, Hou X, Feng H, Wei X, Liu Z, Xu Z, Huang J (2019) The preparation and photocatalytic performance research of CdSe and wool ball-like GO/CdSe microspheres. J Alloys Compd 779:962–970. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.11.278
Gupta H, Chitrarasu K, Chellasamy V, Thangadurai P (2020) Influence of Nb ion doping on the electrical properties of nanocrystalline NiTiO3 ceramics and their universal behavior. Ionics 26:939–952. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-019-03214-y
He Z, Shi Y, Gao C, Wen L, Chen J, Song S (2014) BiOCl/BiVO4 p–n heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. J Phys Chem C 118:389–398. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp409598s
Inceesungvorn B, Teeranunpong T, Nunkaew J, Suntalelat S, Tantraviwat D (2014) Novel NiTiO3/Ag3VO4 composite with enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible light. Cat Com 54:35–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catcom.2014.05.015
Janani R, Sumathi S, Gupta B, Shaheer AM, Ganapathy S, Neppolian B, Roy SC, Channakrishnappa R, Paul B, Singh S (2022) Development of CdTe quantum dot supported ZnIn2S4 hierarchical microflowers for improved photocatalytic activity. J Environ Chem Eng 10:107030–107038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.107030
Khan H, Kang S, Lee CS (2021) Evaluation of efficient and noble-metal-free NiTiO3 nanofibers sensitized with porous gC3N4 sheets for photocatalytic applications. Catalysts 11:385–401. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal11030385
Khan SA, Arshad Z, Shahid S, Arshad I, Rizwan K, Sher M, Fatima U (2019) Synthesis of TiO2/graphene oxide nanocomposites for their enhanced photocatalytic activity against methylene blue dye and ciprofloxacin. Compos Part B Eng 175:107120–107134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.107120
Kumar BS, Shanmugharaj AM, Kalpathy SK, Anandhan S (2017) Some new observations on the structural and phase evolution of nickel titanate nanofibers. Ceram Int 43:6845–6857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2017.02.105
Kumar PS, Sundaramurthy J, Sundarrajan S, Babu VJ, Singh G, Allakhverdiev SI, Ramakrishna S (2014) Hierarchical electrospun nanofibers for energy harvesting, production and environmental remediation. Energ Environ Sci 7:3192–3222. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4EE00612G
Lakhera SK, Hafeez HY, Veluswamy P, Ganesh V, Khan A, Ikeda H, Neppolian B (2018) Enhanced photocatalytic degradation and hydrogen production activity of in situ grown TiO2 coupled NiTiO3 nanocomposites. Appl Surf Sci 449:790–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.02.136
Lavanya T, Satheesh K, Dutta M, Jaya NV, Fukata N (2014) Superior photocatalytic performance of reduced graphene oxide wrapped electrospun anatase mesoporous TiO2 nanofibers. J Alloys Compd 615:643–650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.05.088
Liu J, Zou Y, Cruz D, Savateev A, Antonietti M, Vilé G (2021) Ligand–metal charge transfer induced via adjustment of textural properties controls the performance of single-atom catalysts during photocatalytic degradation. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 13:25858–25867. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c02243
Luévano-Hipólito E, Garay-Rodríguez LF, Torres-Martínez LM (2021) Photocatalytic heterostructured materials for air decontamination and solar fuels production. In: Handbook of Greener Synthesis of Nanomaterials and Compounds, pp 593–636. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822446-5.00026-5
Miranda-García N, Suárez S, Sánchez B, Coronado JM, Malato S, Maldonado MI (2011) Photocatalytic degradation of emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents using immobilized TiO2 in a solar pilot plant. Appl Catal B 103:294–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2011.01.030
Monshi A, Foroughi MR, Monshi MR (2012) Modified Scherrer equation to estimate more accurately nano-crystallite size using XRD. World J Nano Sci Eng 2:154–160. https://doi.org/10.4236/wjnse.2012.23020
Moschogiannaki M, Frontistis Z, Kiriakidis G, Mantzavinos D, Binas V (2020) Porous CoxNi1-xTiO3 nanorods for solar photocatalytic degradation of ethyl paraben. J Materiomics 6:788–799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmat.2020.05.006
Nagarani S, Sasikala G, Yuvaraj M, Kumar RD, Balachandran S, Kumar M (2022) ZnO - CuO nanoparticles enameled on reduced graphene nanosheets as electrode materials for supercapacitors applications. J Energy Storage 52:104969. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2022.104969
Neti S, Nanmangalam AR, Chintakuntla CN, Ramasamy T, Sankaranarayanan S (2023) Structural influence of strontium titanate nanocubes for photocatalytic dye degradation and electrochemical applications. Inorg Chem Commun 148:110299–110310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inoche.2022.110299
Pugazhenthiran N, Kaviyarasan K, Sivasankar T, Emeline A, Bahnemann D, Mangalaraja RV, Anandan S (2017) Sonochemical synthesis of porous NiTiO3 nanorods for photocatalytic degradation of ceftiofur sodium. Ultrason Sonochem 35:342–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.10.012
Ruta V, Sivo A, Bonetti L, Bajada MA, Vilé G (2022) Structural effects of metal single-atom catalysts for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of gemfibrozil. ACS Appl Nano Mater 5:14520–14528. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c02859
Salari H, Hosseini HH (2021) In situ synthesis of visible-light-driven a-MnO2 nanorod/AgBr nanocomposites for increased photoinduced charge separation and enhanced photocatalytic activity. Mater Res Bull 133:111046–111056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2020.111046
Sandhiran N, Ganapathy S, Manoharan Y, Ganguly D, Kumar M, Ramanujam K, Balachandran S (2022) CuO–NiO binary transition metal oxide nanoparticle anchored on rGO nanosheets as high-performance electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction. Environ Res 211:112992. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.112992
Sanjay S, Prabakaran K, Singh S, Baskar K (2018) Catalyst-free deposition of few layer graphene on c-plane sapphire substrates by drop casting technique. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 29:4413–4421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-017-8388-y
Sanjay S, Prabakaran K, Baskar K (2020) Epitaxy of gallium nitride pyramids on few layer graphene for metal-semiconductor-metal based photodetectors. Mater Chem Phys 240:122189–122194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2019.122189
Sankaranarayanan S, Neti S, Yalambaku R, Mamidipudi GK (2023) Morphologically controlled photodetector performance of molybdenum disulfide nanostructures. Mater Chem Phys 301:127663–127671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2023.127663
Sankaranarayanan S, Kandasamy P, Raju R, Gengan S, Krishnan B (2021a) Controlled growth of gallium nitride nanowires on silicon and their utility in high performance Ultraviolet-A photodetectors. Sens Actuator A Phys 332:113189–113200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2021.113189
Sankaranarayanan S, Kandasamy P, Raju R, Gengan S, Krishnan B (2021b) Enhancement of visible light photodetector performance for ultrafast switching using flower shaped gallium nitride nanostructures. Scr Mater 194:113711–113716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2020.113711
Singh M, Neogi S (2022) Selective and multicyclic CO2 adsorption with visible light-driven photodegradation of organic dyes in a robust metal–organic framework embracing heteroatom-affixed pores. Inorg Chem 61:10731–10742. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00950
Sharma K, Raizada P, Hasija V, Singh P, Bajpai A, Nguyen VH, Rangabhashiyam S, Kumar P, Nadda AK, Kim SY, Varma RS (2021) ZnS-based quantum dots as photocatalysts for water purification. J Water Process Eng 43:102217–102230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102217
Shu X, He J, Chen D (2008) Visible-light-induced photocatalyst based on nickel titanate nanoparticles. Ind Eng Chem Res 47:4750–4753. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie071619d
Subramanian S, Ganapathy S, Rajaram M, Ayyaswamy A (2020a) Tuning the optical properties of colloidal quantum dots using thiol group capping agents and its comparison. Mater Chem Phys 249:123127–123137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.123127
Subramanian S, Ganapathy S, Rajaram M, Subramanian S, Ayyaswamy A, Ramasamy J (2020b) Effect of core size on the luminescence properties of cadmium telluride/zinc sulphide core-shell quantum dots. Mater Today: Proc 33:2358–2361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.04.701
Subramanian S, Ganapathy S, Subramanian S, Ramasamy T, Ramasamy J (2021) Enhancement in visible light photocatalytic performance using silver-decorated nickel titanate nanofiber composite. Inorg Chem Commun 132:108821–108826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inoche.2021.108821
Subramanian S, Ganapathy S, Subramanian S (2022) Superior photocatalytic activities of p-CdTe QDs/n-NiTiO3 NFs system for the treatment of hazardous dye industrial effluents. J Environ Chem Eng 10:106941–106951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106941
Subramanian S, Ganapathy S, Dharmalingam S, Jayavel R (2023) Enhanced photocatalytic activities of GO nanosheets-decorated NiTiO3 NFs composites for the environmental remediation of industrial dye. Bull Mater Sci 46:19–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12034-022-02880-5
Suresh R, Giribabu K, Manigandan R, Munusamy S, Kumar SP, Muthamizh S, Stephen A, Narayanan V (2014) Doping of Co into V2O5 nanoparticles enhances photodegradation of methylene blue. J Alloys Compd 598:151–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.02.041
Tian N, Huang H, Liu C, Dong F, Zhang T, Du X, Yu S, Zhang Y (2015) In situ co-pyrolysis fabrication of CeO2/gC3N4 n–n type heterojunction for synchronously promoting photo-induced oxidation and reduction properties. J Mater Chem A 3:17120–17129. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA03669K
ÜstÜnel T, Ide Y, Kaya S, Doustkhah E (2023) Single-atom Sn-loaded exfoliated layered titanate revealing enhanced photocatalytic activity in hydrogen generation. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 11:3306–3315. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c06181
Vavilapalli DS, Srikanti K, Mannam R, Tiwari B, Rao MR, Singh S (2018) Photoactive brownmillerite multiferroic KBiFe2O5 and its potential application in sunlight-driven photocatalysis. ACS Omega 3:16643–16650. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.8b01744
Venkatachalam V, Ganapathy S, Subramani T, Perumal I (2021) Aqueous CdTe colloidal quantum dots for bio-imaging of Artemia sp. Inorg Chem Commun 128:108510–108516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inoche.2021.108510
Vilé G, Sharma P, Nachtegaal M, Tollini F, Moscatelli D, Sroka-Bartnicka A, Tomanec O, Petr M, Filip J, Pieta IS, Zbořil R (2021) An earth-abundant Ni-based single-atom catalyst for selective photodegradation of pollutants. Solar RRL 5:2100176–2100188. https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.202100176
Yang B, Bai X, Wang J, Fang M, Wu X, Liu YG, Huang Z, Lao CY, Min X (2019) Photocatalytic performance of NiO/NiTiO3 composite nanofiber films. Catalysts 9:561–572. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal9060561
Yang G, Chang W, Yan W (2014) Fabrication and characterization of NiTiO3 nanofibers by sol–gel assisted electrospinning. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 69:473–489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-013-3246-8
Zhang Y, Gu J, Murugananthan M, Zhang Y (2015) Development of novel α-Fe2O3/NiTiO3 heterojunction nanofibers material with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance. J Alloys Compd 630:110–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.12.193
Zhu Y, Wang Y, Chen Z, Qin L, Yang L, Zhu L, Tang P, Gao T, Huang Y, Sha Z, Tang G (2015) Visible light induced photocatalysis on CdS quantum dots decorated TiO2 nanotube arrays. Appl Catal B 498:159–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcata.2015.03.035
Acknowledgements
The authors thank UGC-DAE Consortium, Indore, for providing the HRTEM facilities. The authors also thank Dr. S. Narayana Kalkura, Crystal Growth Centre, Anna University, for the encouragement and support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Suguna Subramanian: experimental design, data collection, characterization analysis, manuscript preparation, conceptualization, visualization, investigation, writing—original draft. Sasikala Ganapathy supervised this work finding as a group leader and supported in shaping the manuscript, conceptualized and motivated in investigating the developed materials for environmental applications. Sangeetha Dharmalingam: resources (instrumentation). Sumathi Subramanian: data collection, characterization analysis, visualization. Arivarasan Ayyaswamy: visualization, formal analysis.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Sami Rtimi
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
ESM 1
(DOCX 222 kb)
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Subramanian, S., Ganapathy, S., Dharmalingam, S. et al. Enhanced charge carrier transfer process in nickel titanate nanostructures for environmental remediation of industrial dye. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 70011–70021 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27337-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27337-y