TiO2 Nanoribbons/Carbon Nanotubes Composite with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity; Fabrication, Characterization, and Application

TiO 2 nanoribbons (TiO 2 NRs) loaded with FeCo-Al 2 O 3 catalyst were synthesized and used as a precursor in the synthesis of TiO 2 nanoribbons/carbon nanotubes (TiO 2 NRs/CNTs) composite by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. TiO 2 NRs and TiO 2 NRs/CNTs composite were characterized by XRD, F...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 1 - 17
Main Authors Shaban, Mohamed, Ashraf, Abdallah M., Abukhadra, Mostafa R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 15.01.2018
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
132/124
639/301/299/890
639/925/357/551
Aluminum oxide
Carbon
Chemical vapor deposition
Dyes
Humanities and Social Sciences
Methylene blue
multidisciplinary
Nanotubes
Photocatalysis
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:TiO 2 nanoribbons (TiO 2 NRs) loaded with FeCo-Al 2 O 3 catalyst were synthesized and used as a precursor in the synthesis of TiO 2 nanoribbons/carbon nanotubes (TiO 2 NRs/CNTs) composite by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. TiO 2 NRs and TiO 2 NRs/CNTs composite were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, SEM, EDX and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The results revealed the formation of TiO 2 -B and hydrogen titanate nanoribbon like structures by the hydrothermal treatment. After loading TiO 2 NRs by FeCo-Al 2 O 3 catalyst and the CVD growth of carbon nanotubes, the synthetic TiO 2 nanoribbons converted entirely to TiO 2 -B nanoribbons with nanopits structure. The composite composed of tube-like nanostructures forming an interlocked network from CNTs and TiO 2 -B NRs. The composite shows a relatively red-shifted band gap (3.09 eV), broader and stronger UV absorption band relative to TiO 2 NRs. The photocatalytic properties of TiO 2 NRs and TiO 2 NRs/CNTs composite were studied under sunlight irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye was investigated as a function of contact time, dye concentration, and catalyst dose. The kinetics and mechanisms of degradation were discussed. TiO 2 NRs/CNTs composite showed higher stability after six runs and 50% shorter irradiation time than TiO 2 NRs photocatalyst.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-19172-w