Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Metal Carbides as Photocatalyst for Removal of Organic Effluents from Aqueous Solution

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Impact of COVID-19 on Emerging Contaminants

  • 245 Accesses

Abstract

Though the industrial revolution has made our life easy, it affected the natural water resources with tremendous discharge of waste products. To tackle these problems, several research groups have discovered advanced oxidation processes with a variety of materials (Pt, Au, TiO2, ZnO, etc.) as a catalyst to decompose the toxic pollutants to get potable water. However, the rapid industrialization, generating varieties of pollutants, has forced the scientific community to search for robust, efficient, and stable catalysts. Transition metal carbides (TMCs) have been explored to understand their fundamental characteristics for photocatalytic removal of organic pollutants. But the preparation of TMCs requires very high temperature. Therefore, the present chapter presents a novel single-step solid-state reaction route to synthesize TMCs at relatively low temperature using a specially designed autoclave. It induces the oxygen centers near the surface of TMC particles which is responsible for the photon absorption ability resulting to the charge-carrier availability for photochemical reactions. This chapter describes a detailed review of the structural–optical co-relationship of different TMCs as a potential candidate for the photochemical treatment of organic pollutants under different illumination sources with excellent photostability.

We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one

—J. Y. Cousteau

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ajenifujah OT, Nouralishahi A, Carl S, Eady SC, Jiang Z, Thompson LT (2021) Platinum supported on early transition metal carbides: efficient electrocatalysts for methanol electro-oxidation reaction in alkaline electrolyte. Chem Eng J 406:126670

    Google Scholar 

  • Almanassra IW, Kochkodan V, Ponnusamy G, Mckay G, Atieh MA, Al-Ansari T (2020) Carbide Derived Carbon (CDC) as novel adsorbent for ibuprofen removal from synthetic water and treated sewage effluent. J. Environ Health Sci Eng 18:1375

    Google Scholar 

  • Argyle MD, Bartholomew CH (2015) Heterogeneous catalyst deactivation and regeneration: a review. Catalysts 5:145

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Babel MS, Wahid SM (2010) Freshwater under THREAT South Asia. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett LH, Cuthill JR, McAlister AJ, Erickson NE (1975) Electronic and catalytic properties of tungsten carbide. Science 80(187):859

    Google Scholar 

  • Brar LK, Singla G, Pandey OP (2015) Evolution of structural and thermal properties of carbon-coated TaC nanopowder synthesized by single step reduction of Ta-ethoxide. RSC Adv 5:1406

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Brar LK, Gupta A, Pandey OP (2019) Influence of carbon content of nano-TaC powders on the electrocatalytic and photocatalytic properties. Catal Today 325:98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell IE, Sherwood EM (1967) High-temperature materials and technology. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Cha BJ, Woo TG, Han SW, Saqlain S, Seo HO, Cho HK, Kim JY, Kim YD (2018) Surface modification of TiO2 for obtaining high resistance against poisoning during photocatalytic decomposition of toluene. Catalysts 8:500

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chanu WC, Gupta A, Singh MK, Pandey OP (2021) Group V elements (V, Nb and Ta) doped CeO2 particles for efficient photo‐oxidation of methylene blue dye. J Inorganic Organometallic Poly Mater 31:636

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y, Zhang H, Ma D, Ma J, Ye H, Qian G, Ye Y (2011) Synthesis, thermal stability, and photocatalytic activity of nanocrystalline titanium carbide. Mater Res Bull 46:1800

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Z, Higgins D, Yu A, Zhang J (2011) A review on non-precious metal electrocatalysts for PEM fuel cells. Energy Environ Sci 4:3167

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen WF, Muckerman JT, Fujita E (2013a) Recent developments in transition metal carbides and nitrides as hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts. Chem Commun 49:8896

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y, Zhang H, Zhang J, Ma J, Wang L, Ye H, Qian G (2013b) Facile synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of niobium carbide. Adv Powder Technol 24:207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chong MN, Jin B, Chow CWK, Saint C (2010) Recent developments in photocatalytic water treatment technology: a review. Water Res 44:2997

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colla V, Branca TA, Rosito F, Lucca C, Vivas BP, Delmiro VM (2016) Sustainable Reverse Osmosis application for wastewater treatment in the steel industry. J Clean Prod 130:103

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton FA, Wilkinson G (1972) Advanced inorganic chemistry. Inter-science Publishers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Dantas SLA, Silva MMS, Gomes YF, Lopes-Moriyama AL, Souza CP, Corrêa MA (2021) Photocatalytic degradation tests with cobalt-doped molybdenum carbides. Appl Phy A 127:120

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • De Gisi S, Lofrano G, Grassi M, Notarnicola M (2016) Characteristics and adsorption capacities of low-cost sorbents for wastewater treatment: a review. Sustain Mater Technol 9:10

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong S, Chen X, Zhang X, Cui G (2013) Nanostructured transition metal nitrides for energy storage and fuel cells. Coord Chem Rev 257:1946

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dong J, Shi Y, Huang C, Wu Q, Zeng T, Yao W (2019) A New and stable Mo-Mo2C modified g-C3N4 photocatalyst for efficient visible light photocatalytic H2 production. Appl Catal B Environ 243:27

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fan J, Dou Y, Jiang R, Du K, Deng B, Wang D (2021) Electro-synthesis of tungsten carbide containing catalysts in molten salt for efficiently electrolytic hydrogen generation assisted by urea oxidation. Int J Hyd Energy 46:14932

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng Y, Yang L, Liu J, Logan BE (2016) Electrochemical technologies for wastewater treatment and resource reclamation. Environ Sci Water Res Technol 2:800

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garg A, Gonçalves DS, Liu Y, Wang Z, Wang L, Yoo JS, Kolpak A, Rioux RM, Zanchet D, Leshkov YR (2019) Impact of transition metal carbide and nitride supports on the electronic structure of thin platinum overlayers. ACS Catal 9:7090

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ge R, Huo J, Sun M, Zhu M, Li Y, Chou S, Li W (2021) Surface and interface engineering: molybdenum carbide-based nanomaterials for electrochemical energy conversion. Small 17:1903380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gouvea CAK, Wypych F, Moraes SG, Duran N, Nagata N, Peralta-Zamora P (2000) Semiconductor-assisted photocatalytic degradation of reactive dyes in aqueous solution. Chemosphere 40:433

    Article  CAS  PubMed  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta A (2015) Synthesis and characterization of niobium carbide (NbC) nano-powder. M. Tech., thesis, Thapar University, Patiala, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta A (2019) Synthesis and photocatalytic studies of NbC-C nanocomposites. Ph.D. thesis, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta A, Pandey OP (2019) NbC/C heterojunction for efficient photodegradation of methylene blue T under visible irradiation. Sol Ener 183:398

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta A, Mittal M, Singh MK, Suib SL, Pandey OP (2018) Low temperature synthesis of NbC/C nanocomposites as visible light photoactive catalyst. Sci Rep 8:13597

    Google Scholar 

  • Haibo O, Jianfeng H, Xierong Z, Liyun C, Cuiyan L, Xinbo X, Jie F (2014) Visible- light photocatalytic activity of SiC hollow spheres prepared by a vapor-solid reaction of carbon spheres and silicon monoxide. Ceram Int 40:2619

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haider R, Wen Y, Ma Z, Wilkinson DP, Zhang L, Yuan X, Song S, Zhang J (2021) High temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells: progress in advanced materials and key technologies. Chem Soc Rev 50:1138

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holleck H (1986) Material selection for hard coatings. J Vac Sci Technol A4:6

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang W, Meng H, Gao Y, Wang J, Yang C, Liu D, Liu J, Guo C, Yang B, Cao W (2019) Metallic tungsten carbide nanoparticles as a near infrared-driven photocatalyst. J Mater Chem A 7:18538

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang L, Zheng X, Gao G, Zhang H, Rong K, Chen J, Liu Y, Zhu X, Wu W, Wang Y, Wang J, Dong S (2021) Interfacial electron engineering of palladium and molybdenum carbide for highly efficient oxygen reduction. Am Chem Soc 143:6933

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Inturi SNR, Suidan M, Smirniotis PG (2016) Influence of synthesis method on leaching of the Cr-TiO2 catalyst forvisible light liquid phase photocatalysis and their stability. Appl Cat B: Environ 180:351

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jasbi NE, Dorranian D (2016) Effect of aging on the properties of TiO2 nanoparticle. J Theor Appl Phys 10:157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kajal GA, Mir RA, Pandey OP (2019) Facile sono-chemical synthesis of nanocrystalline MnO2 for catalytic and capacitive applications. Physica B: Cond Matter 564:179

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmel YC, Xu X, Yu W, Yang X, Chen JG (2014) Trends in electrochemical stability of transition metal carbides and their potential use as supports for low-cost electrocatalysts. ACS Catal 4:1558

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirihara M, Itou A, Noguchi T, Yamamoto J (2010) Tantalum carbide or niobium carbide catalyzed oxidation of sulfides with hydrogen peroxide: highly efficient and chemoselective syntheses of sulfoxides and sulfones. Synlett 10:1557

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kosolapova TY (1971) Carbides. Plenum Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Krüner B, Odenwald C, Tolosa A, Schreiber A, Aslan M, Kickelbick G, Presser V (2017) Carbide-derived carbon beads with tunable nanopores from continuously produced polysilsesquioxanes for supercapacitor electrodes. Sustain Energy Fuels 1:1588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar A, Singh K, Pandey OP (2009) Reduction of WO3 to nano-WC by thermo-chemical reaction route. Physica E: Low-Dimension Syst Nanostruct 41:677

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar KPA, Alduhaish O, Pumera M (2021) Electrocatalytic activity of layered MAX phases for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Electro Comm 125:106977

    Google Scholar 

  • Lakhnik AM, Kirian IM, Rud AD (2021) The Mg/MAX-phase composite for hydrogen storage. Int J Hyd Energy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.02.081

  • Li Z, Yu L, Milligan C, Ma T, Zhou L, Cui Y, Qi Z, Libretto N, Xu B, Luo J, Shi E, Wu Z, Xin H, Delgass WN, Miller JT, Wu Y (2018) Two-dimensional transition metal carbides as supports for tuning the chemistry of catalytic nanoparticles. Nat Comm 9:5258

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin Z, Shao H, Xu K, Taberna PL, Simon P (2020) MXenes as high-rate electrodes for energy storage. Trends Chem 2:654

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Kelly TG, Chen JG, Mustain WE (2013) Metal carbides as alternative electrocatalyst supports. ACS Catal 3:1184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mahajan M, Singh K, Pandey OP (2013) Single step synthesis of nano vanadium carbide-V8C7 phase. Int J Ref Met Hard Mater 36:106

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahajan M, Lalla NP, Singh K, Pandey OP (2015) Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of in-situ synthesized core-shell (m-VC@C) nanocomposites. Mater Chem Phys 160:48

    Google Scholar 

  • Maroufi S, Mayyas M, Sahajwalla V (2017) Novel synthesis of silicon carbide nano- wires from e-Waste. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 5:4171

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mashtalir O, Cook KM, Mochalin VN, Crowe M, Barsoum MW, Gogotsi Y (2014) Dye adsorption and decomposition on two-dimensional titanium carbide in aqueous media. J Mater Chem A 2:14334

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maybodi AS, Shariati MR (2018) A study on the transfer of photo-excited charge carriers within direct and inverted type-I heterojunctions of CdS and ZnS QDs. New J Chem 42:9808

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meetani MA, Rauf MA, Hisaindee S, Khaleel A, AlZamly A, Ahmad A (2011) Mechanistic studies of photoinduced degradation of Orange G using LC/MS. RSC Adv 1:490

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Mehrjouei M, Müller S, Möller D (2015) A review on photocatalytic ozonation used for the treatment of water and wastewater. Chem Eng J 263:209

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mir RA, Pandey OP (2019) Waste plastic derived carbon supported Mo2C composite catalysts for hydrogen production and energy storage applications. J Clean Prod 218:644

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mittal M, Sharma M, Pandey OP (2016) Fast and quick degradation properties of doped and capped ZnO nanoparticles under UV-Visible light radiations. Sol Energy 125:51

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohamed HO, Talas SA, Sayed ET, Park S, Eisa T, Abdelkareem MA, Fadali OA, Chae K, Castaño P (2021) Enhancing power generation in microbial fuel cell using tungsten carbide on reduced graphene oxide as an efficient anode catalyst material. Energy 229:120702

    Google Scholar 

  • Osuntokun J, Ajibade PA (2016) Structural and thermal studies of ZnS and CdS nanoparticles in polymer matrices. J Nanomater

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyama ST (1996) The chemistry of transition metal carbides and nitrides. Blackie Academic and Professional, Glasgow

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pierson HO (1996) Handbook of refractory carbides and nitrides. Noyes Publications, Westwood

    Google Scholar 

  • Prasanna VL, Vijayaraghavan R (2015) Insight into the mechanism of anti- bacterial activity of ZnO: surface defects mediated reactive oxygen species even in the dark. Langmuir 31:9155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raghavan V (2015) Materials science and engineering. PHI learning Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Sclafani A, Herrmann JM (1996) Comparison of the photoelectronic and photocatalytic activities of various anatase and rutile forms of titania in pure liquid organic phases and in aqueous solutions. J Phys Chem 100:13655

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma P, Pandey OP (2021) Effect of processing parameters on structural and optical properties of CeO2 nanoparticles for the removal of crystal violet dye. J Sol-Gel Sci Tech 99:75

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singh H, Pandey OP (2013) Single step synthesis of tungsten carbide (WC) nanoparticles from scheelite ore. Ceram. Inter. 39:6703

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singla G, Singh K, Pandey OP (2015) Synthesis of carbon coated tungsten carbide nano powder using hexane as carbon source and its structural, thermal and electrocatalytic properties. Int J Hydr. Energy 40:5628

    Google Scholar 

  • Storms EK (1967) The refractory metal carbides. Academic, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Toth LE (1971) Transition metal carbides and nitrides. Academic, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tulhoff H (1985) Carbides. In Ullmann S (ed) Encyclopedia of industrial chemistry, 5th edn., vol 15. VCH

    Google Scholar 

  • Vig AS, Gupta A, Pandey OP (2018) Efficient photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under solar radiation by ZrC nanoparticles. Adv Powd Tech 29:2231

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singla G, Singh K, Pandey OP (2013) Williamson-Hall study on synthesized nanocrystalline tungsten carbide (WC). Appl. Phy. A 113:237

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta A, Singla G, Pandey OP (2016) Effect of synthesis parameters on structural and thermal properties of NbC/C nano composite synthesized via in-situ carburization reduction route at low temperature. Ceram Int 42:13024

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari AC (2007) Raman spectroscopy of graphene and graphite: disorder, electron-phonon coupling, doping and nonadiabatic effects. Solid State Commun 143:47

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma J, Gupta A, Pandey OP (2019) Effect of Zr doping and aging on optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnS nanopowder. Ceram Int 45:13671

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Teh CY, Budiman PM, Shak KPY, Wu TY (2016) Recent advancement of coagulation-flocculation and its application in wastewater treatment. Ind Eng Chem Res 55:4363

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • UNEP (2016) A snapshot of the World’s water quality: towards a global assessment

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan K, Li Y, Wang Y, Wei G (2021) Recent advance in the fabrication of 2D and 3D metal carbides-based nanomaterials for energy and environmental applications. Nanomaterials 11:246

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wannakao S, Artrith N, Limtrakul J, Kolpak AM (2017) Catalytic activity and product selectivity trends for carbon dioxide electroreduction on transition metal-coated tungsten carbides. J Phys Chem C 121:20306

    Google Scholar 

  • Water: A Shared Responsibility (2006) The United Nations World Water Development Report 2. UNESCO-World Water Assessment Programme

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu JB, Lin ML, Cong X, Liu HN, Tan PH (2018) Raman spectroscopy of graphene-based materials and its applications in related devices. Chem Soc Rev 47:1822

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou L, Zhang X, Ma L, Gao J, Jiang Y (2017) Acetylcholinesterase/chitosan-transition metal carbides nanocomposites-based biosensor for the organophosphate pesticides detection. Biochem Eng J 128:243

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics and Materials Science, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, Punjab, 147004, India

    O. P. Pandey & Aayush Gupta

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, GLA University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, 281406, India

    Aayush Gupta

Authors
  1. O. P. Pandey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aayush Gupta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to O. P. Pandey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    Manish Kumar

  2. NUS-Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Sanjeeb Mohapatra

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Pandey, O.P., Gupta, A. (2022). Metal Carbides as Photocatalyst for Removal of Organic Effluents from Aqueous Solution. In: Kumar, M., Mohapatra, S. (eds) Impact of COVID-19 on Emerging Contaminants. Springer Transactions in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1847-6_16

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation