Synthesis, characterization and evaluations of TiO(2) nanostructures prepared from different titania precursors for photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol in aqueous solution

BACKGROUND: The aim of present work, was to synthesize the titanium nanoparticles (TNPs) and titanium nanotubes (TNTs) through the hydrothermal method with different precursors including the Titanium(IV) isopropoxide (TTIP) and Titanium(IV) bis(ammonium lactato)dihydroxide (TALH). METHODS: TiO(2) nanostructures from different titania precursors as heterogeneous photocatalysis via hydrothermal method were synthesized. The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, surface area measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The TiO(2) photocatalysts were tested on the degradation of 4-Chlorophenol (4-CP) aqueous solution under UVC irradiation in a fabricated photoreactor. RESULTS: The effect of operating parameters including the; initial 4-CP concentration (50–150 mg/L), catalyst dosages (0–3 g/L) and solution pH (4–10) on the photocatalytic activity of the prepared catalysts were systematically investigated. The results show that amongst the TiO(2) nanostructures under best conditions (initial 4-CP concentration of 50 mg/L, catalyst dosage of 2 g/L, pH of 4.0, Time of 180 min) TNT-P2 exhibited much higher photocatalytic degradation efficiency (82%) as compared with TNT-P1 (77%), TNP-P2 (51%), and TNP-P1 (48%). Moreover, the mechanism and tentative pathways of 4-CP degradation were explored. Finally, the kinetic study was performed and the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model was aptly fitted with the experimental data. CONCLUSION: The results of the photocatalytic activity measurement demonstrated that one-dimensional TNTs shows enhanced photocatalytic performance as compared to the TNPs, therefore, indicating the beneficial feature of TNTs as a photocatalyst for the degradation of pollutants. Besides, TiO(2) nanostructures prepared from TALH precursor (TNT-P2 82%, TNP-P2 51%) has higher photocatalytic degradation efficiency as compared with TTIP precursors (TNT-P1 77%, TNP-P1 48%).