Abstract

In this work, a novel biochar-based support derived from Ilex paraguariensis was produced and impregnated with TiO₂ for use as a photocatalyst to degrade Rhodamine-B (RhB) in water. The sample was characterized by X-ray diffractometry, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms. The TiO₂/biochar composite presented superior photoactivity compared to TiO₂ alone, achieving 96% decolorization and 75% TOC removal. These remarkable results can be associated with a combination of properties such as lower band-gap energy (3.11 eV), higher pore size (46 nm), and surface area (67.36 m² g⁻¹) values, as well as uniform distribution of TiO₂ on the support surface. Furthermore, the superoxide radicals (O₂^•-) significantly contributed to degrading RhB. In addition, a possible reaction pathway involving the RhB degradation was proposed. Overall, the produced material in this work was highly effective to degrade RhB in aqueous medium under UV light, thus proving to be a promising photocatalyst for remediation of contaminant molecules.

摘要

在这项工作中，生产了一种源自巴拉圭冬青的新型生物炭基载体，并用 TiO ₂浸渍，用作光催化剂以降解水中的罗丹明-B (RhB)。通过X射线衍射、傅里叶变换红外光谱、扫描电子显微镜、漫反射光谱和N ₂吸附-脱附等温线对样品进行了表征。_{与单独的 TiO 2}相比， TiO ₂ /生物炭复合材料表现出优异的光活性，实现了 96% 的脱色和 75% 的 TOC 去除。这些显着的结果可能与较低的带隙能量 (3.11 eV)、较高的孔径 (46 nm) 和表面积 (67.36 m ² g ) 等特性相结合。^-1 )值，以及TiO ₂在载体表面上的均匀分布。此外，超氧自由基（O ₂ ^•-）显着促进了RhB的降解。此外，还提出了可能涉及 RhB 降解的反应途径。总体而言，这项工作中生产的材料在紫外光下对水性介质中的 RhB 降解非常有效，因此被证明是一种有前途的污染物分子修复光催化剂。