Property-performance relationship of core-shell structured black TiO₂ photocatalyst for environmental remediation

Highlights

● Properties and performance relationship of CSBT photocatalyst were investigated.

● Properties of CSBT were controlled by simply manipulating glycerol content.

● Performance was linked to semiconducting and physicochemical properties.

● CSBT (W:G ratio 9:1) had better performance with lower energy consumption.

● Phenols were reduced by 48.30% at a cost of $2.4127 per unit volume of effluent.

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between the properties and performance of black titanium dioxide with core-shell structure (CSBT) for environmental remediation is crucial for improving its prospects in practical applications. In this study, CSBT was synthesized using a glycerol-assisted sol-gel approach. The effect of different water-to-glycerol ratios (W:G = 1:0, 9:1, 2:1, and 1:1) on the semiconducting and physicochemical properties of CSBT was investigated. The effectiveness of CSBT in removing phenolic compounds (PHCs) from real agro-industrial wastewater was studied. The CSBT synthesized with a W:G ratio of 9:1 has optimized properties for enhanced removal of PHCs. It has a distinct core-shell structure and an appropriate amount of Ti³⁺ cations (11.18%), which play a crucial role in enhancing the performance of CSBT. When exposed to visible light, the CSBT performed better: 48.30% of PHCs were removed after 180 min, compared to only 21.95% for TiO₂ without core-shell structure. The CSBT consumed only 45.5235 kWh/m³ of electrical energy per order of magnitude and cost $2.4127 per unit volume of treated agro-industrial wastewater. Under the conditions tested, the CSBT demonstrated exceptional stability and reusability. The CSBT showed promising results in the treatment of phenols-containing agro-industrial wastewater.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Black TiO₂ / Core-shell structure / Property-performance relationship / Agro-industrial effluent / Environmental remediation

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Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely appreciate funding from Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R399), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Author Credit Statement Sajjad Haider:

Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Data curation, Project administration, Supervision, Resources, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Rab Nawaz: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigations, Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing-Original draft preparation, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Muzammil Anjum: Supervision; Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Tahir Haneef: Investigations; Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Vipin Kumar Oad: Investigation; Methodology; Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Salah Uddinkhan: Formal analysis, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Rawaiz Khan: Investigations, Writing- Reviewing and Editing. Muhammad Aqif: Writing-Reviewing and Editing.

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