Boron-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub>-CNT Nanocomposites with Improved Photocatalytic Efficiency toward Photodegradation of Toluene Gas and Photo-Inactivation of <i>Escherichia coli</i>

An in-situ sol-gel method was used for the synthesis of boron-doped TiO<sub>2</sub>-CNT nanocomposites with varied boron concentrations from 1 to 4 mol%. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by various techniques, namely XRD, UV-DRS, TEM, PL, and XPS; all results show that 3...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Valmiki B. Koli, Shyue-Chu Ke, Ananta G. Dodamani, Shamkumar P. Deshmukh, Jung-Sik Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
Series:Catalysts
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/6/632
Description
Summary:An in-situ sol-gel method was used for the synthesis of boron-doped TiO<sub>2</sub>-CNT nanocomposites with varied boron concentrations from 1 to 4 mol%. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by various techniques, namely XRD, UV-DRS, TEM, PL, and XPS; all results show that 3 mol% B-TiO<sub>2</sub>-CNT nanocomposites have superior properties to pure TiO<sub>2</sub>, 3B-TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles, and other nanocomposites. TEM images clearly show the B-TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles decorated on the CNT surface. Photo-luminescence studies confirm that boron doping of up to 3 mol% in TiO<sub>2</sub>-CNT nanocomposites reduces the electron-hole pair recombination rate. The photocatalytic performance of the B-TiO<sub>2</sub>-CNT nanocomposites was tested against the photodegradation of toluene gas and the photocatalytic inactivation of <i>E. coli</i> in the presence of UV and visible light respectively. B-TiO<sub>2</sub>-CNT (3 mol%) nanocomposites show the highest photocatalytic activity.
ISSN:2073-4344