10.1007/s40089-018-0230-x

Heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of toluene in static environment employing thin films of nitrogen-doped nano-titanium dioxide

Show Details XML HTML PDF
  • Yasun Y. Kannangara1,
  • Ruchira Wijesena2,
  • R. M. G. Rajapakse3,
  • K. M. Nalin de Silva*4,
  1. Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology and Science Park, Homagama, LK Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, LK
  2. Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology and Science Park, Homagama, LK
  3. Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, LK Department of Chemistry, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, LK
  4. Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology and Science Park, Homagama, LK Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo, 00300, LK
Cover Image

Published in Issue 2018-04-17

How to Cite

Kannangara, Y. Y., Wijesena, R., Rajapakse, R. M. G., & de Silva, K. M. N. (2018). Heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of toluene in static environment employing thin films of nitrogen-doped nano-titanium dioxide. International Nano Letters, 8(1 (March 2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40089-018-0230-x
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

HTML views: 32

PDF views: 129

Abstract

Abstract Photocatalytic semiconductor thin films have the ability to degrade volatile organic compounds (VOCs) causing numerous health problems. The group of VOCs called “BTEX” is abundant in houses and indoor of automobiles. Anatase phase of TiO 2 has a band gap of 3.2 eV and UV radiation is required for photogeneration of electrons and holes in TiO 2 particles. This band gap can be decreased significantly when TiO 2 is doped with nitrogen (N-TiO 2 ). Dopants like Pd, Cd, and Ag are hazardous to human health but N-doped TiO 2 can be used in indoor pollutant remediation. In this research, N-doped TiO 2 nano-powder was prepared and characterized using various analytical techniques. N-TiO 2 was made in sol–gel method and triethylamine (N(CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 ) was used as the N-precursor. Modified quartz cell was used to measure the photocatalytic degradation of toluene. N-doped TiO 2 nano-powder was illuminated with visible light (xenon lamp 200 W, λ  = 330–800 nm, intensity = 1 Sun) to cause the degradation of VOCs present in static air. Photocatalyst was coated on a thin glass plate, using the doctor-blade method, was inserted into a quartz cell containing 2.00 µL of toluene and 35 min was allowed for evaporation/condensation equilibrium and then illuminated for 2 h. Remarkably, the highest value of efficiency 85% was observed in the 1 μm thick N-TiO 2 thin film. The kinetics of photocatalytic degradation of toluene by N-TiO 2 and P25-TiO 2 has been compared. Surface topology was studied by varying the thickness of the N-TiO 2 thin films. The surface nanostructures were analysed and studied with atomic force microscopy with various thin film thicknesses.

Keywords

  • N-doped TiO2,
  • Photocatalytic thin film,
  • Volatile organic compounds,
  • Surface study
HTML PDF

References

  1. De Silva et al. (2018) Photocatalytic activity of electrospun MgO nanofibres: synthesis, characterization and applications (pp. 204-210) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2017.10.047
  2. Carp et al. (2004) Photoinduced reactivity of titanium dioxide (pp. 33-177) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progsolidstchem.2004.08.001
  3. Hashimoto et al. (2005) TiO2 photocatalysis: a historical overview and future prospects 44(12) (pp. 8269-8285) https://doi.org/10.1143/JJAP.44.8269
  4. Zhang et al. (2013) Hydrophilicity, photocatalytic activity and stability of tetraethyl orthosilicate modified TiO2 film on glazed ceramic surface (pp. 141-147) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.11.117
  5. Bae et al. (1998) Preparation and thermal stability of doped TiO2 composite membranes by the sol–gel process (pp. 239-245) https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-2738(98)00100-3
  6. Rzigalinski and Strobl (2009) Cadmium-containing nanoparticles: perspectives on pharmacology and toxicology of quantum dots (pp. 280-288) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2009.04.010
  7. Mills and Le Hunte (1997) An overview of semiconductor photocatalysis (pp. 1-35) https://doi.org/10.1016/S1010-6030(97)00118-4
  8. Park et al. (2011) Indium-free, acid-resistant anatase Nb-doped TiO2 electrodes activated by rapid-thermal annealing for cost-effective organic photovoltaics (pp. 2178-2185) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2011.03.021
  9. Yu et al. (2009) An efficient and low-cost TiO2 compact layer for performance improvement of dye-sensitized solar cells (pp. 1319-1324) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2008.09.025
  10. Yin et al. (2005) Synthesis of visible-light reactive TiO2−XNY photocatalysts by mechanochemical doping (pp. 1479-1485) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2005.07.004
  11. Chou et al. (2014) Chemical-photo-electricity diagrams by Ohm’s law—a case study of Ni- doped TiO2 solutions in dye-sensitized solar cells (pp. 12-21) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.12.012
  12. Tung Lin et al. (2014) Key operating parameters affecting photocatalytic activity of visible-light-induced C doped TiO2 catalyst for ethylene oxidation (pp. 175-183) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2014.02.085
  13. Tang et al. (2014) Preparation of a Fe-doped visible-light-response TiO2 film electrode and its photoelectrocatalytic activity (pp. 39-45) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mseb.2014.04.011
  14. Morikawa et al. (2008) Visible-light-induced photocatalytic oxidation of carboxylic acids and aldehydes over N-doped TiO2 loaded with Fe, Cu or Pt (pp. 56-62) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2008.01.034
  15. Zhang et al. (2014) Photocatalytic effects of wool fibers modified with solely TiO2 nanoparticles and N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles by using hydrothermal method (pp. 106-114) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2014.05.097
  16. Ferrari-Lima et al. (2014) Photodegradation of benzene, toluene and xylenes under visible light applying N-doped mixed TiO2 and ZnO catalysts (pp. 40-46) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2014.03.042
  17. Wang et al. (2014) Effective water splitting using N-doped TiO2 films: role of preferred orientation on hydrogen production (pp. 1967-1971) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.11.097
  18. Huang et al. (2012) Low temperature synthesis and photocatalytic properties of highly oriented ZnO/TiO2−xNy coupled photocatalysts 123(124) (pp. 9-17) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2012.04.010
  19. De Silva et al. (2017) Nano-MgO reinforced chitosan nanocomposites for high performance packaging applications with improved mechanical, thermal and barrier properties (pp. 739-747) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.10.038
  20. Wijesinghe et al. (2016) Preparation of bone-implants by coating hydroxyapatite nanoparticles on self-formed titanium dioxide thin-layers on titanium metal surfaces (pp. 172-184) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2016.02.053
  21. Wijesinghe et al. (2017) Urea-assisted synthesis of hydroxyapatite nanorods from naturally occurring impure apatite rocks for biomedical applications (pp. 24806-24812) https://doi.org/10.1039/C7RA02166F
  22. Wu and Long (2011) Realizing visible-light-induced self-cleaning property of cotton through coating N-TiO2 film and loading AgI particles (pp. 4770-4774) https://doi.org/10.1021/am201251d
  23. Li et al. (2005) A novel nanocrystalline TiO2 thin film electrodes prepared at low temperature 16(7) (pp. 967-970)
  24. Özdal et al. (2012) A comparative study on TiO2 doped hybrid solar cells (pp. 5259-5264) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.02.009
  25. Webb et al. (2012) Roughness parameters for standard description of surface nanoarchitecture (pp. 257-263) https://doi.org/10.1002/sca.21002
  26. Girginov et al. (2012) Silver doped TiO2 photocatalyst for methyl orange degradation 5(4) (pp. 14-17)
  27. Kim et al. (2002) Photocatalytic degradation of volatile organic compounds at the gas–solid interface of a TiO2 photocatalyst (pp. 437-444) https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(02)00101-7
  28. Fasakin et al. (2013) Synthesis and characterization of metal organic chemical vapour deposited copper titanium oxide (Cu–Ti–O) thin films from single solid source precursor (pp. 1-6) https://doi.org/10.4236/jmp.2013.412A3001
  29. Lynch et al. (2015) Substitutional or interstitial site-selective nitrogen doping in TiO2 nanostructures 119(13) (pp. 7443-7452) https://doi.org/10.1021/jp512775s
  30. Klanjšek Gunde et al. (1995) Application of the Kubelka–Munk theory to thickness-dependent diffuse reflectance of black paints in the Mid-IR (pp. 623-629) https://doi.org/10.1366/0003702953964165