Low-Cost Synthesis of Cu-Modified Immobilized Nanoporous TiO2 for Photocatalytic Degradation of 1H-Benzotriazole
by
Tihana Čižmar 1, Ivana Panžić 1, Krešimir Salamon 1
, Ivana Grčić 2, Lucija Radetić 2, Jan Marčec 2 and Andreja Gajović 1,*
Tihana Čižmar 1, Ivana Panžić 1, Krešimir Salamon 1, Ivana Grčić 2, Lucija Radetić 2, Jan Marčec 2 and Andreja Gajović 1,*
1
Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička 54, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2
Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Zagreb, Hallerova Aleja 7, HR-42000 Varaždin, Croatia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Catalysts 2020, 10(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal10010019
Received: 31 October 2019 / Revised: 9 December 2019 / Accepted: 16 December 2019 / Published: 21 December 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials in Photo(Electro)catalysis)
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.
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Keywords:
immobilized nanoporous TiO2; electrochemical anodization; Cu-modification; photocatalytic activity; spin-coating; 1H-benzotriazole
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MDPI and ACS Style
Čižmar, T.; Panžić, I.; Salamon, K.; Grčić, I.; Radetić, L.; Marčec, J.; Gajović, A. Low-Cost Synthesis of Cu-Modified Immobilized Nanoporous TiO2 for Photocatalytic Degradation of 1H-Benzotriazole. Catalysts 2020, 10, 19.
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