Modification and characterization of selected Zambian clays for potential use as photocatalysts (original) (raw)
2023, European Journal of Chemistry
Natural materials such as clay are valued for their favorable physical and chemical characteristics on the surface. In this study, the selected Zambian clay materials are immobilized with TiO2 and manganese ions to determine their suitability for use as photocatalysts. SiO2 and Al2O3 oxide composition of Zambian clays was obtained in the range of 35.08-52.63/35.15-52.72 and 13.85-21.73/13.77-21.80, respectively, by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF); while Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) of modified clays showed that they have 1.54% incorporation of Ti and 4.98% Mn for Chingola clay to act as UV-Vis absorbers. According to the powder X-ray diffraction analysis of raw clays, the primary phase of all samples is quartz and contains low concentrations of bentonite and kaolinite. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed fluffy morphology with agglomeration, while the particle sizes of the clay photocatalysts with the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) ranged between 3.0 and 4.8 nm. UV-vis spectroscopy of the samples showed bandgap energies ranging from 2.52-3.08 eV. The surface areas, pore volumes, and pore sizes of the investigated modified and unmodified clays determined by the Brunauer, Teller, Emmett/Barrett Joyner Halenda (BET/BJH) model ranged from 12.06-64.51 m 2 /g, 0.029-0.068 cm 3 /g, and 0.642-2.802 nm, respectively. To enhance the mixing of oil and clay, the adsorbents were grafted with silane and confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy through CH peaks at ~1450 and ~2860 cm-1. The modified clay materials exhibited favorable properties for use as photocatalysts. Clay Adsorption Adsorbents Modification Zambian clay materials Photochemical oxidation
Related papers
The Role of Clay Mineral-Derived Photocatalysts in Insights of Remediation
Ceramics
Clay minerals have advantages to be used as supports for obtaining new catalysts, in which colloidal and surface characteristics play a significant role. In addition to their favorable physicochemical properties, clay minerals allow different modifications to form structures with broad photochemical capabilities. This review collects pertinent works of semiconductor nanoparticles loaded onto clay minerals and their potential application in hazardous contaminant photodegradation. Web of Science, Scopus, and Science Direct were used for bibliographic research databases. The sol–gel method is the most frequent technique used to obtain semiconductors immobilized onto clay minerals, but other methods have also proven helpful in forming these structures. Thence, the types of synthesis and different parameters that influence their photocatalytic efficiency will be discussed. Pillared clay minerals have been applied to photo-oxidation reactions involving photodecomposition of environmental ...
Recent Clay-Based Photocatalysts for Wastewater Treatment
Separations
Photocatalysis is a remarkable methodology that is popular and applied in different interdisciplinary research areas such as the degradation of hazardous organic contaminants in wastewater. In recent years, clay-based photocatalyst composites have attracted significant attention in the field of photocatalysis owing to their abundance, excellent light response ability, and stability. This review describes the combination of clay with focusing photocatalysts such as TiO2, g-C3N4, and Bi-based compounds for degrading organic pollutants in wastewater. Clay-based composites have more active surface sites, resulting in inhibited photocatalyst particle agglomeration. Moreover, clay enhances the creation of active radicals for organic pollutant degradation by separating photogenerated electrons and holes. Thus, the functions of clay in clay-based photocatalysts are not only to act as a template to inhibit the agglomeration of the main photocatalysts but also to suppress charge recombination...
Synthesis and characterisation of clay-supported titania photocatalysts
Journal of colloid and interface science, 2007
Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been extensively investigated as a photocatalyst for environmental remediation, as it is photostable, nontoxic, highly reactive and is a relatively inexpensive material [1], [2], [3], [4] and [5]. When TiO 2 is illuminated by UV light (λ less-than-or-equals, slant ...
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.