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TiO2-g-C3N4 thin film photocatalyst on large substrates for advanced wastewater treatment

  • Invited Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for energy, environment and building applications
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Abstract

This paper reports on a Vis-active composite thin film photocatalyst developed by integrating graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) as filler in a titanium dioxide (TiO2) matrix. The thin film deposition procedure follows two steps: (1) the deposition of an intermediate TiO2 layer on an FTO/glass substrate using spray pyrolysis deposition followed by (2) the deposition of the composite layer (TiO2–g-C3N4) by spraying a diluted sol to get different filler contents (1%wt–20%wt) in the composite layer. The deposition was optimised on large substrate dimensions targeting upscaling of the advanced wastewater treatment process. The structural and morphological characterization results were correlated with the photocatalytic activity of the films tested using the methylene blue (MB) standard pollutant under UV + VIS irradiation at low irradiance value, in static regime. The influence of the g-C3N4 content on the photodegradation efficiency and stability of the composite layers was observed, with the results indicating 5%wt of g-C3N4 as optimal content. Furthermore, the optimal composite layer was tested in a continuous flow process using MB or imidacloprid (IMD) as pollutant, under simulated solar radiation with a higher irradiance value GUV+VIS = 800 W/m2; the results show that the photocatalytic efficiency increases with the increase of the radiation intensity. The small variations observed in the transmittance spectra, surface morphology and roughness values before and after the process indicate a good stability of the composites in the aqueous media. Also, successful experiments on large substrates show the potential of TiO2–g-C3N4 two layered thin film photocatalysts for commercial applications for wastewater treatment. This has a great societal impact.

Graphical Abstract

Highlights

  • Double-layered TiO2/TiO2-g-C3N4 composites are investigated as photocatalytic thin films.

  • Vis-activation of the composites even at low g-C3N4 content could be noticed.

  • The composites with 5% g-C3N4 proved the best efficiencies in IMD and MB removal.

  • Higher pollutants removal efficiency in dynamic regime as compared to the static regime.

  • Good stability of the photocatalyst in the aqueous environment, under irradiation.

  • Tests on TiO2-g-C3N4 films deposited on large surfaces outlined their potential use in the advanced wastewater treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Transilvania University of Brasov, Eroilor 29, 500036, Brasov, Romania

    Silvioara Gheorghita, Cristina Bogatu & Anca Duta

  2. Romanian Academy of Technical Sciences, Dacia Bvd. 26, 030167, Bucharest, Romania

    Anca Duta

Authors
  1. Silvioara Gheorghita
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  2. Cristina Bogatu
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  3. Anca Duta
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Correspondence to Anca Duta.

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Gheorghita, S., Bogatu, C. & Duta, A. TiO2-g-C3N4 thin film photocatalyst on large substrates for advanced wastewater treatment. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-023-06263-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-023-06263-y

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