Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, 50700, Pakistan.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, 50700, Pakistan.
J Hazard Mater. 2019 Feb 5;363:205-213. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.09.055. Epub 2018 Sep 24.
Highly efficient, visible light-driven and a novel ternary hybrid photocatalyst WO-TiO-g-CN with robust stabilities and versatile properties has been synthesized through facile hydrothermal method. This study considers the photo-degradation of aspirin (acetylsalicylate) and caffeine (methyl-theobromine) via photocatalysts (WO, WO/TiO and WO/TiO/g-CN (WTCN) composite) under visible-light irradiation. The SEM and TEM images show the formation of WO nanoparticles with orthorhombic structure and average particle size of 65 nm. The photocatalyst WTCN composite possesses higher-catalytic activity when compared to that of WO and WO/TiO for degradation of aspirin and caffeine. The incorporation of g-CN in WO/TiO composite exhibited significant influence on the photocatalytic performance for both pollutants. Excellent photocatalytic performance of WTCN composite was observed owing to hydroxyl radical (OH) and superoxide radical (O) as main active species. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of WTCN composite can be attributed to following three reasons: (1) extended visible-light absorption; (2) extended surface area; (3) efficient charge-separation due to synergistic effects between g- and WO/TiO composite. The removal efficiency of aspirin and caffeine (Methyl theobromine) could be achieved as much as 98% and 97% for acetylsalicylate and methyl-theobromine using WTCN composite material, respectively. This study could provide new insights into the synthesis of novel WO-based materials for environmental and energy applications.
通过简便的水热法合成了高效、可见光驱动的新型三元杂化光催化剂 WO-TiO-g-CN，具有良好的稳定性和多功能性。本研究考虑了通过光催化剂（WO、WO/TiO 和 WO/TiO/g-CN（WTCN）复合材料）在可见光照射下光降解阿司匹林（乙酰水杨酸）和咖啡因（甲基可可碱）。SEM 和 TEM 图像显示形成了具有正交结构和平均粒径为 65nm 的 WO 纳米粒子。与 WO 和 WO/TiO 相比，WTCN 复合光催化剂在光降解阿司匹林和咖啡因方面表现出更高的催化活性。g-CN 的掺入对两种污染物的光催化性能均有显著影响。由于羟基自由基 (OH) 和超氧自由基 (O) 是主要的活性物质，WTCN 复合光催化剂表现出优异的光催化性能。WTCN 复合光催化剂的增强光催化活性可以归因于以下三个原因：(1) 可见光吸收扩展；(2) 表面积扩展；(3) 由于 g-和 WO/TiO 复合材料之间的协同效应，有效电荷分离。使用 WTCN 复合材料，分别可以达到 98%和 97%的阿司匹林和甲基可可碱的去除效率。这项研究为环境和能源应用中新型 WO 基材料的合成提供了新的思路。
