Synergized mechanistic and solar photocatalysis features of N-TiO<sub>2</sub> functionalised activated carbon

Kah Hon Leong; Azrina Abd Aziz; Yee Li Kang; Sheau Wei Goh; Kulhar Vijay Singh; Lan Ching Sim; Pichiah Saravanan; Kah Hon Leong; Azrina Abd Aziz; Yee Li Kang; Sheau Wei Goh; Kulhar Vijay Singh; Lan Ching Sim; Pichiah Saravanan

doi:10.3934/matersci.2017.3.800

AIMS Materials Science

2017, Volume 4, Issue 3: 800-813. doi: 10.3934/matersci.2017.3.800

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Research article Topical Sections

Synergized mechanistic and solar photocatalysis features of N-TiO₂ functionalised activated carbon

1.
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
2.
Department of Energy and Environment, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Lebuhraya TunRazak, 26600 Gambang, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
3.
Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4.
School of Infrastructure, Indian Institute of Technology Bubaneswar, Bubaneswar-751053, India
5.
Environmental Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad, Dhanbad-826004, Jharkhand, India

Received: 24 April 2017 Accepted: 29 June 2017 Published: 03 July 2017

A TiO₂ photocatalysts was successfully functionalised by employing nitrogen (N) as a dopant on activated carbon (AC) support as synergist. Two different types of activated carbon adopting namely Garcinia mangostana and palm shell as precursor were chosen as an activated carbon support. Thus the synthesized samples were examined for its physical and chemistry properties through advanced microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The results revealed the contribution of adsorbent support through the rich surface area while doping of nitrogen contributed for effectively utilizing the incident photons by narrowing the band gap energy. The synergetic adsorption-photocatalytic activity was investigated by adopting batik dye, Remazol Brilliant Blue Dye (RBB) as model pollutant. Thus the N-TiO₂ functionalised activated carbon demonstrated excellent adsorption-photocatalytic activity with 80% removal efficiency in 6 h. The synergism of adsorption-photocatalysis portrayed the alternative for treating recalcitrant RBB a predominant dye found in batik textile industry wastewater.
- N-TiO₂,
- activated carbon,
- functionalization,
- synergistic,
- adsorption-photocatalysis
Citation: Kah Hon Leong, Azrina Abd Aziz, Yee Li Kang, Sheau Wei Goh, Kulhar Vijay Singh, Lan Ching Sim, Pichiah Saravanan. Synergized mechanistic and solar photocatalysis features of N-TiO2 functionalised activated carbon[J]. AIMS Materials Science, 2017, 4(3): 800-813. doi: 10.3934/matersci.2017.3.800

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Abstract

A TiO₂ photocatalysts was successfully functionalised by employing nitrogen (N) as a dopant on activated carbon (AC) support as synergist. Two different types of activated carbon adopting namely Garcinia mangostana and palm shell as precursor were chosen as an activated carbon support. Thus the synthesized samples were examined for its physical and chemistry properties through advanced microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The results revealed the contribution of adsorbent support through the rich surface area while doping of nitrogen contributed for effectively utilizing the incident photons by narrowing the band gap energy. The synergetic adsorption-photocatalytic activity was investigated by adopting batik dye, Remazol Brilliant Blue Dye (RBB) as model pollutant. Thus the N-TiO₂ functionalised activated carbon demonstrated excellent adsorption-photocatalytic activity with 80% removal efficiency in 6 h. The synergism of adsorption-photocatalysis portrayed the alternative for treating recalcitrant RBB a predominant dye found in batik textile industry wastewater.

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