Issue 33, 2022, Issue in Progress

The solvent-free mechano-chemical grinding of a bifunctional P25–graphene oxide adsorbent–photocatalyst and its configuration as porous beads

Abstract

Owing to their use in water-cleaning technology, titanium-dioxide-based nanomaterials have dominated the photocatalysis scene, with so-called Degussa (P25) being the most promising under UV light. However, this is not the case under visible light, where it is necessary to combine titanium dioxide with other photosensitising nanomaterials. Unfortunately, most of the strategies aimed in this direction are chemically non-facile, energy-intensive, economically expensive, and not suitable for large-scale production. We herein describe a straightforward solvent-free approach for accessing visible-light-activated titanium-dioxide-based photocatalysts via the mechanochemical grinding of Degussa P25 with a second solid partner. Upon comparing several solid-material benchmarks, P25–graphene oxide is the best combination. The resulting material showed efficient performance for the adsorption and photodegradation of different dye pollutants, namely methylene blue, malachite green, Congo red, and methyl orange. The recorded performance was nearly comparable to that reached using sol–gel materials, with the ultimate advantage of being more sustainable and industrially scalable. The recyclability can be improved through a porous-bead configuration using biomass waste chitosan hydrogel, an approach that can further fulfill the requirement for more sustainable photocatalyst designs.

Graphical abstract: The solvent-free mechano-chemical grinding of a bifunctional P25–graphene oxide adsorbent–photocatalyst and its configuration as porous beads

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Jun 2022
Accepted
15 Jul 2022
First published
01 Aug 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2022,12, 21145-21152

The solvent-free mechano-chemical grinding of a bifunctional P25–graphene oxide adsorbent–photocatalyst and its configuration as porous beads

F. Zirar, N. Katir, S. Qourzal, I. A. Ichou and A. El Kadib, RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 21145 DOI: 10.1039/D2RA04017D

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