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Controlled acid catalyzed sol gel for the synthesis of highly active TiO2-chitosan nanocomposite and its corresponding photocatalytic activity

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Abstract

For the synthesis of a highly active TiO2-chitosan nanocomposite, pH plays a crucial role towards controlling its morphology, size, crystallinity, thermal stability, and surface adsorption properties. The presence of chitosan (CS) biopolymer facilitates greater sustainability to the photoexcited electrons and holes on the catalysts’ surface. The variation of synthesis pH from 2 to 5 resulted in different physico-chemical and photocatalytic properties, whereby a pH of 3 resulted in TiO2-chitosan nanocomposite with the highest photocatalytic degradation (above 99 %) of methylene orange (MO) dye. This was attributed to the efficient surface absorption properties, high crystallinity, and the presence of reactive surfaces of –NH2 and –OH groups, which enhances the adsorption-photodegradation effect. The larger surface oxygen vacancies coupled with reduced electron-hole recombination further enhanced the photocatalytic activity. It is undeniable that the pH during synthesis is critical towards the development of the properties of the TiO2-chitosan nanocomposite for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity.

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Acknowledgments

Authors would like to acknowledge UM grant UMRG (A), IPPP (PG074-2014B), and Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan for their financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Center, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Saba Afzal, Emy Marlina Samsudin, Nurhidayatullaili Muhd Julkapli & Sharifah Bee Abd Hamid

  2. Department of Chemistry, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta, Pakistan

    Saba Afzal

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  1. Saba Afzal
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  2. Emy Marlina Samsudin
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  3. Nurhidayatullaili Muhd Julkapli
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  4. Sharifah Bee Abd Hamid
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Correspondence to Sharifah Bee Abd Hamid.

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Afzal, S., Samsudin, E.M., Julkapli, N.M. et al. Controlled acid catalyzed sol gel for the synthesis of highly active TiO2-chitosan nanocomposite and its corresponding photocatalytic activity. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 23158–23168 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7507-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7507-2

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