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Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of GO–TiO2 Nanocomposites in Textile Dye Remediation

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Abstract

Textile azo dyes are used for coloring fabrics which are found to be potentially carcinogenic and mutagenic chemicals. It is disposed of as industrial effluents, causing major hazardous impacts on the aquatic ecosystem and getting deposited onto the soil for a prolonged period. Several conventional methods have been previously applied to eliminate these dyes but had low efficiency and high cost limitations. In order to overcome those issues, in this study, we have synthesized a GO–TiO2 nanocomposite using the solvothermal method from graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles which were synthesized individually using modified Hummer’s method and sol–gel method, respectively. The prepared TiO2 nanoparticles and GO–TiO2 nanocomposite were characterized using UV–visible spectrophotometry, FTIR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, XRD, scanning electron microscopy, and EDAX analysis. The textile azo dyes used were Crystal Violet, Brilliant Green, Malachite Green, and Rhodamine B, and their photocatalytic degradation was observed spectrophotometrically using TiO2 nanoparticles and GO–TiO2 nanocomposite. From the results obtained, we found that the GO–TiO2 nanocomposite was successfully synthesized with TiO2 doping and effectively reduced all the dyes used in this study compared to the standard photocatalyst TiO2. On the other hand, the Brilliant Green and Malachite green have shown an increase in their color after TiO2 treatment, which was diminished by using GO–TiO2 nanocomposites. The biocompatibility of this GO–TiO2 was studied using zebrafish embryos and the results demonstrated that the GO–TiO2 nanocomposite was safe for the embryos without causing any delay in hatching or developmental abnormality. The outcome of this study yields a novel application of GO–TiO2 nanocomposite in the reduction in azo dyes showing potential applications in wastewater remediation. Further studies are required to test the biocompatibility and efficacy of other dye removals.

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All the authors declare that all data and materials support their published claims and comply with field standards.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Chettinad Academy of Research and Education for providing us the necessary infrastructure and chemicals to conduct the experiments. The authors acknowledge funding from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), INDIA, Scheme No. 01(2868)/17/EMR-II. We also thank Dr. Surajit Pathak for providing us with some chemicals required for the experiments.

Funding

The study was funded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), INDIA, Scheme No. 01(2868)/17/EMR-II.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Bionanotechnology, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chettinad Health City, Kelambakkam, 603103, Tamil Nadu, India

    V. Keerthana, Agnishwar Girigoswami, S. Jothika, D. Kavitha & Koyeli Girigoswami

  2. Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chettinad Health City, Kelambakkam, 603103, Tamil Nadu, India

    A. Gopikrishna

  3. Department of Chemistry, School of Basic Sciences, VISTAS, Chennai, 600117, Tamil Nadu, India

    T. Somanathan

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  1. V. Keerthana
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  2. Agnishwar Girigoswami
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  3. S. Jothika
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  4. D. Kavitha
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  5. A. Gopikrishna
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  7. Koyeli Girigoswami
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Contributions

Keerthana V, Jothika S, Kavitha D and Gopikrishna A have executed the experiments. Agnishwar Girigoswami and Koyeli Girigoswami have given the concept, done experiments and prepared the manuscript. Keerthana V has also prepared the manuscript. Somanathan T has contributed some chemicals and prepared the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Koyeli Girigoswami.

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The manuscript is not to be submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration. The submitted work is original and should not have been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full). A single study is not split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time (i.e., ‘salami-slicing/publishing’). Results are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation (including image-based manipulation). Authors have adhered to discipline-specific rules for acquiring, selecting and processing data. No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own (‘plagiarism’). Proper acknowledgements to other works have been given.

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Keerthana, V., Girigoswami, A., Jothika, S. et al. Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of GO–TiO2 Nanocomposites in Textile Dye Remediation. Iran J Sci Technol Trans Sci 46, 1149–1161 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40995-022-01337-y

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