Journal article
Green synthesis of mesoporous anatase TiO2 nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activities
RSC Advances, Vol.7(76), pp.48083-48094
2017
Abstract
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) materials have been the focus of many promising applications due to their low-cost, availability and biocompatible properties. In this study, mesoporous anatase TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesised using a green chemistry approach. This visible-light active photocatalyst was prepared via a simple and solvent free precipitation method at low temperatures using titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) as a precursor and soluble starch as the template. The effect of initial solution pH and concentration of TTIP on surface morphology and photocatalytic activities of TiO2 nanoparticles were evaluated. Based on the results obtained, the TiO2 nanocatalyst prepared using 0.01 mol of TTIP under basic conditions revealed the best photocatalytic activity. The as-synthesised nanoparticles were further characterised using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen adsorption analysis (NAA). The XRD spectrum confirmed that the catalyst was composed of anatase tetragonal TiO2 phase. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of 81.59 m2 g−1 proved the presence of mesopores (average pore size = 8.7 nm) which partially contributed to and catalysed the photodegradation process of methylene blue (MB) solution under sunlight. The effects of various parameters such as initial dye concentration, catalyst dosage and recyclability of the catalyst were evaluated to determine the best conditions. Results obtained suggest that TiO2 nanoparticles synthesised through the green chemistry approach under optimum conditions exhibited an effective photodegradation process of MB solution under sunlight.
Details
- Title
- Green synthesis of mesoporous anatase TiO2 nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activities
- Authors/Creators
- S.S. Muniandy (Author/Creator) - Universiti Sains MalaysiaN.H. Mohd Kaus (Author/Creator)Z-T Jiang (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityM. Altarawneh (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityH.L. Lee (Author/Creator) - Universiti Sains Malaysia
- Publication Details
- RSC Advances, Vol.7(76), pp.48083-48094
- Publisher
- Royal Society of Chemistry
- Identifiers
- 991005539579207891
- Copyright
- © Royal Society of Chemistry 2017
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Engineering and Information Technology
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 2 Chemistry
- 2.74 Photocatalysts
- 2.74.5 TiO2 Photocatalysis
- Web Of Science research areas
- Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
- ESI research areas
- Chemistry