Structural, morphological and photocatalytic properties of nanostructured TiO2/AgI photocatalyst

Ivan Mironyuk; Nazarii Danyliuk; Liliia Turovska; Ihor Mykytyn; Volodymyr Kotsyubynsky

doi:10.15330/pcss.24.2.374-384

Authors

Ivan Mironyuk Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Nazarii Danyliuk Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Liliia Turovska Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Ihor Mykytyn Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Volodymyr Kotsyubynsky Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15330/pcss.24.2.374-384

Keywords:

titania, Congo Red, Methyl Orange, photocatalyst

Abstract

Nanostructured TiO₂/AgI photocatalyst under the action of ultraviolet or visible electromagnetic radiation effectively neutralizes organic pollutants in the aqueous environment. It is a nanostructure in which micro- and small mesopores of anatase TiO₂ are filled with silver iodide in the superionic state. The content of the α-AgI ion-conducting phase in the volume of ТіО₂ pores can be ~20 wt %.

To obtain a photocatalyst, titanium dioxide is synthesized by the sol-gel method, using a titanium aquacomplex solution [Ti(OH₂)₆]³⁺•3Cl^- and a Na₂CО₃ modifier additive as a precursor. The modifying additive during synthesis ensures the fixation of =О₂СО carbonate groups on the surface of oxide material particles. The presence of these groups leads to an increase in both the pore volume and the specific surface area of ТіО₂. The specific surface area of carbonized titanium dioxide is 368 m²•g^-1, the pore volume is 0.28 cm³•g^-1, and their size is 0.9-4.5 nm.

To fill the micro- and small mesopores of TiO₂ with the superionic α-AgI phase, Ag⁺ cations are first adsorbed from the AgNO₃ solution on the titanium dioxide surface, and then the oxide material is contacted with the KI solution.

Compared to the Evonik P25-TiO₂ photocatalyst, the nanostructured TiO₂/AgI photocatalyst demonstrates a significantly higher efficiency of photodegradation of organic dyes Congo Red and Methyl Orange in visible and ultraviolet radiation. The most active ТіО₂/40AgI sample achieved complete degradation of the CR dye in 6 minutes of UV irradiation, while the efficiency of commercial Р25-TiO₂ over the same time was only 42%.

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