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Visible light photocatalytic activity of rutile TiO2 fiber clusters in the degradation of terephthalic acid

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Abstract

Rutile TiO2 nanoparticles, in different structural and morphological properties, were produced by the hydrolysis of titanium tetrachloride in a highly acidic reaction media at moderate temperatures without calcination. Their photocatalytic activities were investigated in the liquid-phase degradation of terephthalic acid under visible light illumination. The parameters, which are the concentration of the titanium tetrachloride solution (0.1–1 M) and reaction temperature (60–95 °C), effective on the properties of the particles, and their photocatalytic performances, were investigated. The XRD patterns indicated a pure rutile crystal structure at moderate temperatures without need of calcination. The FEGSEM images showed the formation of flower-, pinecone-, and sphere-like clusters consisting of interconnected nanofibers. The N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms pointed out the microporous structure of the clusters. Band gap energies were found to be varying between 3.02 and 3.08 eV due to the well-developed rutile crystallite structure. Systematic studies elucidated that the optimum reactant concentration and reaction temperature are 0.5 M TiCl4 and 95 °C, respectively. The rutile clusters synthesized at the optimum reaction conditions exhibited 99 % of the photocatalytic degradation of TPA under visible light illumination at shorter irradiation times compared with commercial P25 TiO2.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) through Projects 104M255 and 110M451, the Science, Technology Application, and Research Center of Ege University (EBILTEM) through Project 2012/BIL/027, and the Scientific Research Council of Ege University through Project 12MUH042. The authors also thank Prof. Dr. F. S. C. Özkan and specialist Nesrin Tatlıdil (Department of Chemical Engineering, Izmir Institute of Technology) for surface area measurements and PETKIM Petrokimya Holding Co. for the TPA.

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, 35100, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

    H. Banu Yener & Şerife Ş. Helvacı

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  1. H. Banu Yener
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  2. Şerife Ş. Helvacı
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Correspondence to Şerife Ş. Helvacı.

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Yener, H.B., Helvacı, Ş.Ş. Visible light photocatalytic activity of rutile TiO2 fiber clusters in the degradation of terephthalic acid. Appl. Phys. A 120, 967–976 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9263-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9263-4

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