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Mesocrystalline TiO2/sepiolite composites for the effective degradation of methyl orange and methylene blue

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Abstract

Mesocrystalline TiO2/sepiolite (TiS) composites with the function of adsorption and degradation of liquid organic pollutants were successfully fabricated via a facile and low-cost solvothermal reaction. The prepared TiS composites were characterized by FESEM, HRTEM, XRD, XPS, N2 adsorption-desorption, UV–vis DRS, and EPR. Results revealed the homogeneous dispersion of highly reactive TiO2 mesocrystals on the sepiolite nanofibers. Thereinto each single–crystal–like TiO2 mesocrystal comprised many [001]-oriented anatase nanoparticles about 10–20 nm in diameter. The photocatalytic activity was further evaluated by the degradation of anionic dye (methyl orange) and cationic dye (methylene blue) under the UV-vis light (350≤λ≤780 nm) irradiation. By selecting appropriate experimental conditions, we can easily manipulate the photocatalytic performance of TiS composites. The optimal TiS catalyst (the sepiolite content of 28.5 wt.%, and the reaction time of 24 h) could efficiently degrade methyl orange to 90.7% after 70 min, or methylene blue to 97.8% after 50 min, under UV-vis light irradiation. These results can be attributed to their synergistic effect of high crystallinity, large specific surface area, abundant hydroxyl radicals, and effective photogenerated charge separation.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Key Science and Technology Projects Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC0700902).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Green Building Materials, China Building Materials Academy, Beijing, 100024, China

    Ruirui Liu, Zhijiang Ji, Jing Wang & Jinjun Zhang

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  1. Ruirui Liu
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  2. Zhijiang Ji
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  4. Jinjun Zhang
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Correspondence to Ruirui Liu or Zhijiang Ji.

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Liu, R., Ji, Z., Wang, J. et al. Mesocrystalline TiO2/sepiolite composites for the effective degradation of methyl orange and methylene blue. Front. Mater. Sci. 12, 292–303 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-018-0429-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-018-0429-9

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