Low-Cost Synthesis of Cu-Modified Immobilized Nanoporous TiO₂ for Photocatalytic Degradation of 1H-Benzotriazole

Cu-modified immobilized nanoporous TiO₂ photocatalysts, prepared by electrochemical anodization of titanium foils, were obtained via four different synthesis methods: hydrothermal synthesis, anodization with Cu source, electrodeposition, and spin-coating, using two different copper sources, Cu(NO₃)₂ and Cu(acac)₂. The objective of this research was to investigate how copper modifications can improve the photocatalytic activity of immobilized nanoporous TiO₂ under the UV/solar light irradiation. The best photocatalytic performances were obtained for Cu-modifications using spin-coating. Therefore, the effect of irradiated catalyst surface areas on the adsorption of model pollutants, methylene blue (MB) and 1H-benzotriazole (BT), was examined for samples with Cu-modification by the spin-coating technique. The mechanisms responsible for increased degradation of MB and BT at high Cu concentrations (0.25 M and 0.5 M) and decreased degradation at low Cu loadings (0.0625 M and 0.125 M) were explained. 1H-benzotriazole was used to study the photocatalytic activity of the given samples because it is highly toxic and present in most water systems. The characterization of the synthesized Cu-modified photocatalysts in terms of phase composition, crystal structure, and morphology were investigated using X-ray Diffraction, Raman Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. View Full-Text