Azrina Abd Aziz

Enhanced magnetic separation and photocatalytic activity of nitrogen doped titania photocatalyst supported on strontium ferrite

An enhanced ferromagnetic property, visible light active TiO(2) photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by supporting strontium ferrite (SrFe(12)O(19)) onto TiO(2) doped with nitrogen (N) and compared with N-doped TiO(2). The synthesized catalysts were further characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), BET surface area analysis, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) and visible light spectroscopy analysis for their respective properties. The XRD and EDS revealed the structural and inorganic composition of N-TiO(2) supported on SrFe(12)O(19). The supported N-TiO(2) exhibited a strong ferromagnetic property with tremendous stability against magnetic property losses. It also resulted in reduced band gap (2.8 eV) and better visible light absorption between 400 and 800 nm compared to N-doped TiO(2). The photocatalytic activity was investigated with a recalcitrant phenolic compound namely 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) as a model pollutant under direct bright and diffuse sunlight exposure. A complete degradation of 2,4-DCP was achieved with an initial concentration of 50mg/L for both photocatalysts in 180 min and 270 min respectively under bright sunlight. Similarly the diffuse sunlight study resulted in complete degradation for supported N-TiO(2) and >85% degradation N-TiO(2), respectively. Finally the supported photocatalyst was separated under permanent magnetic field with a mass recovery ≈ 98% for further reuse.

Preparation, characterisation and solar photoactivity of titania supported strontium ferrite nanocomposite photocatalyst

Enhanced ferromagnetic and visible light active titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst was synthesised by depositing a hard ferromagnet strontium ferrite (SrFe12O19) onto TiO2 via an effortless hydrothermal and poly-condensation method. The catalysts were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), BET surface analysis, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and UV-visible light spectroscopy analysis. The prepared nanocomposite photocatalyst exhibited physically a powerful ferromagnetic property with significant stability against the loss of its magnetic property (coercivity ≈2200 G). The catalyst can be fluidised and recovered by an external magnetic field enhancing separation and mixing efficiency. Furthermore, it resulted in a reduced band gap (≈2.3 eV) which resulted in enhanced visible light absorption compared with unsupported TiO2. The photocatalytic activity was investigated by degrading a recalcitrant phenolic compound, viz., 2, 4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) as model pollutant under different illuminance of daylight. Complete degradation of 2,4-DCP (50 mg/L initial concentration in 0.25 L) was achieved in 120 min (supported photocatalyst) and 180 min (unsupported TiO2) under higher illuminance of sunlight. Likewise under diffused sunlight, 100% degradation of 2,4-DCP was achieved in 240 min for the supported TiO2, while ≥90% degradation could be achieved in 300 min for the unsupported TiO2. The supported nanocomposite was recycled under a permanent magnetic field with a mass recovery of 98% and reused.

Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Oxidation an Effective Tool for Wastewater Treatment – A Review

Fujishima and co. discovered that water can be split into hydrogen and oxygen through this process in 1972. Hence early studies were focused on the production of hydrogen using solar energy as a clean fuel from water (Kawai & Sakata, 1980; Sato & White, 1980). Further studies found that irradiated semiconductors particles could catalyze a lot of interesting and useful reduction-oxidation reactions of organic and inorganic compounds (Fox & Dulay, 1993). Some of the semiconductor particles were found to be able to completely mineralize various organic and inorganic substances which are known as environmental pollutants (Fujishima et al., 2007). Since then, many researches were carried out based on the environmental applications of heterogeneous photocatalysis (Herrmann, 1999; Hoffman et al., 1995; Rajeshwar et al., 2001; Saravanan et al., 2009).

Mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysts in utilizing visible light

The utilisation of sunlight as an abundant and renewable resource has motivated the development of sustainable photocatalysts that can collectively harvest visible light. However, the bottleneck in utilising the low energy photons has led to the discovery of plasmonic photocatalysts. The presence of noble metal on the plasmonic photocatalyst enables the harvesting of visible light through the unique characteristic features of the noble metal nanomaterials. Moreover, the formation of interfaces between noble metal particles and semiconductor materials further results in the formation of a Schottky junction. Thereby, the plasmonic characteristics have opened up a new direction in promoting an alternative path that can be of value to the society through sustainable development derived through energy available for all for diverse applications. We have comprehensively prepared this review to specifically focus on fundamental insights into plasmonic photocatalysts, various synthesis routes, together with their strengths and weaknesses, and the interaction of the plasmonic photocatalyst with pollutants as well as the role of active radical generation and identification. The review ends with a pinnacle insight into future perspectives regarding realistic applications of plasmonic photocatalysts.

Strength and Microstructural Properties of Mortar Containing Soluble Silica from Sugarcane Bagasse Ash

Sugarcane bagasse is among the abundantly available waste in agriculture industry. The proportion of siliceous ashes after the incineration process is one of the attractive features in sugarcane bagasse. However, its low bulk density would result in an additional issue for further use as cement replacement material, since higher replacement volume will bring more hydrophilic particles of sugarcane bagasse ash into the mixture. Therefore this research aims to extract the reactive silica from sugarcane bagasse ash and increase its bulk density by converting it into soluble form. The process was divided into three stages, which were pre-treatment and incineration of sugarcane bagasse, conversion into soluble form, and production of mortar specimen. Soluble silica from sugarcane bagasse ash was used to partially replace cement content in mortar, hence its effect on the hydration process can be evaluated. Compression test and scanning electron microscope analysis were performed to observe its effect on the strength and microstructural development of mortar framework. The results show that the inclusion of soluble silica would enhance the early hydration rate and improve the consolidation of cement matrix via additional calcium silicate hydrate formation, which would increase the capability of internal mortar framework to distribute loads and achieve higher strength.

Nanocrystal TiO2 Engulfed SiO2-Barium Hexaferrite for Enhanced Electrons Mobility and Solar Harvesting Potential

Barium hexaferrite embedded-silica-titania photocatalyst (TiO2-SiO2-BaFe12O19) was synthesized through sol-gel, liquid catalytic phase transformation and solid reaction routes. The magnetic photocatalyst was aimed to harvest the photoenergy from the sunlight, minimize the electron-holes recombination rate, improve the long lifetime charge-carriers transfer to maximize the photocatalytic activity and enhances the separation and reusability of it. The as-synthesized photocatalyst was characterized and the photocatalytic activity was evaluated for the reduction of 2, 4-dichlorophenol (2, 4-DCP) under direct sunlight. The presence of SiO2 interlayer in TiO2-SiO2-BaFe12O19 prevents the phase transformation of magnetic core. TiO2-SiO2-BaFe12O19 benefits the magnetic separation with appreciable magnitude of coercivity (5035.6 Oe) and saturation magnetization (18.8256E-3 emu/g), respectively. The ferrite ions from the magnetic core which dispersed into TiO2 matrix exhibited an evident shift of the absorption in the visible region. This was again confirmed with the reduced band gap energy of 1.90 eV. Furthermore, TiO2-SiO2-BaFe12O19 destructed 100% of 2, 4-DCP compound within 150 min under very bright sunlight with an average irradiance of 820.8 W/m2 (results not shown). The embedding of BaFe12O19 with a SiO2 layer onto TiO2 nanocrystals contributed for an excellent solar-light utilization and ease magnetic separation of the nanosized photocatalyst.