Abstract
A photocatalytic system for the degradation of aqueous organic pollutants under visible light irradiation is obtained by an innovative approach based on ceria/platinum (Pt) hybrid nanoclusters on cellulose acetate fibrous membranes. The catalytic materials are fabricated by supersonic beam deposition of Pt nanoclusters directly on the surface of electrospun cellulose acetate fibrous mats, pre-loaded with a cerium salt precursor that is transformed into ceria nanoparticles directly in the solid mats by a simple thermal treatment. The presence of Pt enhances the oxygen vacancies on the surface of the formed ceria nanoparticles and reduces their band gap, resulting in a significant improvement of the photocatalytic performance of the composite mats under visible light irradiation. Upon the appropriate pretreatment and visible light irradiation, we prove that the most efficient mats, with both ceria nanoparticles and Pt nanoclusters, present a degradation efficiency of methylene blue of 70% and a photodegradation rate improved by about five times compared to the ceria loaded samples, without Pt. The present results bring a significant improvement of the photocatalytic performance of polymeric nanocomposite fibrous systems under visible light irradiation, for efficient wastewater treatment applications.
Highlights
In recent years, considerable research effort has been devoted to the realization of efficient, economical, and green methods for water treatment [1], and heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation is among the most promising ones [1,2]
The catalytic materials are fabricated by supersonic beam deposition of Pt nanoclusters directly on the surface of electrospun cellulose acetate fibrous mats, pre-loaded with a cerium salt precursor that is transformed into ceria nanoparticles directly in the solid mats by a simple thermal treatment
Upon the appropriate pretreatment and visible light irradiation, we prove that the most efficient mats, with both ceria nanoparticles and Pt nanoclusters, present a degradation efficiency of methylene blue of 70% and a photodegradation rate improved by about five times compared to the ceria loaded samples, without Pt
Summary
Considerable research effort has been devoted to the realization of efficient, economical, and green methods for water treatment [1], and heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation is among the most promising ones [1,2]. For the fabrication of fibrous mats for photocatalytic applications, the polymeric matrix has often a “sacrificial role”, and it is eliminated during the conversion of the precursor salt in metal oxide NPs by intense thermal treatment Following this approach, the final inorganic materials lose the favorable mechanical characteristics offered by the presence of the polymer, compromising their usability [15,16]. The electrospun mats contain a precursor salt that allows the NPs grow upon nucleation when activated by an appropriate thermal treatment or light irradiation ensuring their homogeneous distribution on the surface and inside the fibers [17,18,19] Following this approach, electrospun fibrous membranes have been used as hosts for the thermal conversion of semiconductor and metallic precursor salts, forming photocatalysts directly immobilized on a structurally stable functional solid network for the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes [17,18,19]. The results demonstrate that, with this versatile method, it is possible to fabricate flexible and handled polymeric nanocomposite fibrous mats for visible light-induced photocatalytic applications
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