Nanocomposites of zeolite–titanium(IV) oxides: Preparation, characterization, adsorption, photocatalytic and bactericidal properties

Abstract

NT/zeolite nanocomposites (NT - nanosized titanium(IV) oxides: η-phase and Hombifine N with anatase; zeolite: Beta(25), ZSM-5 with different modules Si/Al, MOR, or Y) have been obtained by two methods: modified cold-impregnation method (method 1) and in situ method of introduction of zeolites into the reaction mixture during the synthesis of NT by hydrolysis of TiOSO4×xH2SO4×yH2O or TiOSO4×2H2O aqueous solutions (method 2), performed for the first time.According to the X-ray data, the following differences in the NT:zeolite systems under investigation have been revealed: the mixture of zeolites and NT in nanocrystalline (Hombifine N/zeolite) or amorphous states (η-phase/zeolite, except for η-phase/MOR, where NT peaks are absent) (method 1), and the mixture of Y-zeolite and amorphous NT or only Y-zeolite without NT (method 2), which indicates the different levels of interaction between NT and zeolites in the systems studied.The best characteristics of properties (photocatalytic, adsorption, and antibacterial) have been revealed in the nanocomposites synthesized by the method 2. The correlation between the photoreaction rate constant (the k value) under UV irradiation in the presence of nanocomposites (kmax for NT/ZSM-5(12)) and the type of precursor, its pH, synthesis duration, NT:zeolite ratio, organic dye composition (methyl orange or Rhodamine G) has been established. The highest degree of extraction of P(V) ions from model aqueous systems has been observed in the presence of nanocomposites with the largest total surface area of all particles (Rmax=99.48% for NT/MOR). The correlation between the sorption degree of P(V) ions and the modulus of zeolite is possible. Antibacterial activity in the dark towards Escherichia coli has been found for Y and Beta(25) zeolites and nanocomposites on their basis (methods 1 and 2) with the maximum diameter of bacterial growth inhibition (18mm) obtained for NT/Beta(25) (method 2) synthesized only from TiOSO4×xH2SO4×yH2O precursor.