Abstract
Photocatalytic decomposition of an emerging pollutant perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in aqueous solution by Ag nanoparticles and molecularly imprinted polymers modified TiO2 nanotubes were investigated. The modified TiO2 were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. PFOA decomposition by the MIP-Ag/TiO2 NTs reached 91% after 8 h reaction. Compared with other prepared photo catalyst, MIP-Ag/TiO2 NTs exhibited higher activities for PFOA decomposition. The rate constant of pseudo-first-order kinetics for MIP-Ag/TiO2 NTs was 0.0055min−1, which were much higher than that of other TiO2 materials. The great performance of MIP-Ag/TiO2 NTs were attributed to electron traps of Ag nanoparticles, and the footprint cavities formed by molecularly imprinted polymer. Shorter-chain PFCs were identified as main degradation products, and the PFOA degradation mechanism and pathway were proposed.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
