Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water Treatment
Photocatalysis has long been touted as one of the most promising technologies for environmental remediation. The ability of photocatalysts to degrade a host of different pollutants, especially recalcitrant molecules, is certainly appealing. Titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) has been use...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/3/708 |
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| author | Clayton Farrugia Alessandro Di Mauro Frederick Lia Edwin Zammit Alex Rizzo Vittorio Privitera Giuliana Impellizzeri Maria Antonietta Buccheri Giancarlo Rappazzo Maurice Grech Paul Refalo Stephen Abela |
| author_facet | Clayton Farrugia Alessandro Di Mauro Frederick Lia Edwin Zammit Alex Rizzo Vittorio Privitera Giuliana Impellizzeri Maria Antonietta Buccheri Giancarlo Rappazzo Maurice Grech Paul Refalo Stephen Abela |
| author_sort | Clayton Farrugia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Photocatalysis has long been touted as one of the most promising technologies for environmental remediation. The ability of photocatalysts to degrade a host of different pollutants, especially recalcitrant molecules, is certainly appealing. Titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) has been used extensively for this purpose. Anodic oxidation allows for the synthesis of a highly ordered nanotubular structure with a high degree of tunability. In this study, a series of TiO<sub>2</sub> arrays were synthesised using different electrolytes and different potentials. Mixed anatase-rutile photocatalysts with excellent wettability were achieved with all the experimental iterations. Under UVA light, all the materials showed significant photoactivity towards different organic pollutants. The nanotubes synthesised in the ethylene glycol-based electrolyte exhibited the best performance, with near complete degradation of all the pollutants. The antibacterial activity of this same material was similarly high, with extremely low bacterial survival rates. Increasing the voltage resulted in wider and longer nanotubes, characteristics which increase the level of photocatalytic activity. The ease of synthesis coupled with the excellent activity makes this a viable material that can be used in flat-plate reactors and that is suitable for photocatalytic water treatment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:19:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f0900495778426daf9cf5c19b0d37ee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:19:30Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f0900495778426daf9cf5c19b0d37ee2023-11-21T10:08:22ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912021-03-0111370810.3390/nano11030708Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water TreatmentClayton Farrugia0Alessandro Di Mauro1Frederick Lia2Edwin Zammit3Alex Rizzo4Vittorio Privitera5Giuliana Impellizzeri6Maria Antonietta Buccheri7Giancarlo Rappazzo8Maurice Grech9Paul Refalo10Stephen Abela11Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche—Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, ItalyApplied Research & Innovation Centre, Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, PLA 9032 Paola, MaltaApplied Research & Innovation Centre, Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, PLA 9032 Paola, MaltaApplied Research & Innovation Centre, Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, PLA 9032 Paola, MaltaConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche—Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche—Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science, University of Catania, Via Androne, 81-95124 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science, University of Catania, Via Androne, 81-95124 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaDepartment of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaDepartment of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaPhotocatalysis has long been touted as one of the most promising technologies for environmental remediation. The ability of photocatalysts to degrade a host of different pollutants, especially recalcitrant molecules, is certainly appealing. Titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) has been used extensively for this purpose. Anodic oxidation allows for the synthesis of a highly ordered nanotubular structure with a high degree of tunability. In this study, a series of TiO<sub>2</sub> arrays were synthesised using different electrolytes and different potentials. Mixed anatase-rutile photocatalysts with excellent wettability were achieved with all the experimental iterations. Under UVA light, all the materials showed significant photoactivity towards different organic pollutants. The nanotubes synthesised in the ethylene glycol-based electrolyte exhibited the best performance, with near complete degradation of all the pollutants. The antibacterial activity of this same material was similarly high, with extremely low bacterial survival rates. Increasing the voltage resulted in wider and longer nanotubes, characteristics which increase the level of photocatalytic activity. The ease of synthesis coupled with the excellent activity makes this a viable material that can be used in flat-plate reactors and that is suitable for photocatalytic water treatment.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/3/708titanium dioxidemorphologywater treatmentphotocatalysisnanotubesanodic oxidation |
| spellingShingle | Clayton Farrugia Alessandro Di Mauro Frederick Lia Edwin Zammit Alex Rizzo Vittorio Privitera Giuliana Impellizzeri Maria Antonietta Buccheri Giancarlo Rappazzo Maurice Grech Paul Refalo Stephen Abela Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water Treatment Nanomaterials titanium dioxide morphology water treatment photocatalysis nanotubes anodic oxidation |
| title | Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water Treatment |
| title_full | Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water Treatment |
| title_fullStr | Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water Treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water Treatment |
| title_short | Suitability of Different Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Morphologies for Photocatalytic Water Treatment |
| title_sort | suitability of different titanium dioxide nanotube morphologies for photocatalytic water treatment |
| topic | titanium dioxide morphology water treatment photocatalysis nanotubes anodic oxidation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/3/708 |
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