Enriched Catalytic Activity of TiO Nanoparticles Supported by Activated Carbon for Noxious Pollutant Elimination.

Cleaning wastewater has become one of the most serious issues for a number of scientists and researchers in recent years, as water is the most basic need for the daily life of humans. There has been a focus on the removal of noxious pollutants from wastewater effluents by using nanocatalysts owing to their unique physicochemical actions and stability. Herein we manufactured TiO nanoparticles supported by activated carbon (AC-TiO) using a cost-effective sonochemical method. The band structures of the AC-TiO and TiO were modified from 3.2 to 3.1 eV, thus increasing the catalytic activity. The structural, optical and anatase crystal phase properties, with morphological confirmation, were studied by applying UV-DRS, PL, FESEM, XRD, along with HRTEM, respectively. The specific surface area, calculated by BET analysis, was found to be ~241 m/gm and ~46 m/gm for AC-TiO and TiO. The degradation efficiency of the as-prepared nanocatalysts against the very toxic but rarely studied organic textile dye pollutant RO 84 was investigated and 97% efficiency were found for the AC-TiO as compared to pure TiO, which is a highly appreciated finding in the catalytic dye degradation application domain. Such surface-modified nanocatalysts could be further implemented for the treatment of wastewaters/waste effluents released from chemical industries, laboratories and other sources.