Abstract
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and TiO2/copper (denoted as TC) composite were prepared via hydrothermal process. In the meantime, divinylbenzene (DVB) and bismaleimide (BMI) monomers were allowed to participate in in-situ radical polymerization in the presence of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) initiator to afford porous polymers (abridged as PP). The as-obtained PP were mixed together with tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) and CuSO4·5H2O in vacuum to obtain PP/TC composite (denoted as PPTC) containing incorporated TC composite in the pores of PP. The as-prepared TiO2, TC, and PPTC were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, fluorescence spectrometry, and electron spin resonance spectrometry, and so on. Furthermore, their photocatalytic activity for the degradation of N,N-dimethylformamide, methyl orange, phenol, and methylene blue under the irradiation of simulated sunlight (Xe lamp light) and natural sunlight were investigated. Findings indicated that, whether under simulated sunlight or nature sunlight irradiation, PPTC exhibited much better photocatalytic performance than TiO2 and TC for the degradation of the tested organic pollutants. Particularly, it allowed N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to be degraded by a rate of 73.7% under simulated sunlight irradiation and it retained photocatalytic activity even after six cycles of reuse, exhibiting promising potential for the removal of organic pollutants in wastewater (including industrial water, aquaculture wastewater, and domestic sewage). The desired photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared PPTC is attributed to two aspects. Namely, the incorporation of Cu2+ into the fine structure of TiO2 contributes to increasing photocatalyst activity and producing more free radical while the embedding of TC composite into the PP pores improves to the contact area between the photocatalyst and organic pollutants, and both are beneficial for improving the adsorption capacity and activity of the photocatalyst, thereby enhancing the degradation of the organic pollutants.
Highlights
The photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants on semiconductor materials is of particular significance for wastewater treatment, since the photocatalytic degradation is often realizable under mild conditions
DVB and BMI monomers are initiated by AIBN to participate in radical polymerization reaction, thereby affording porous polymers (PP)
Tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) and CuSO4 are adsorbed into the pores of PP, followed by hydrothermal reaction forming TiO2 /Cu composite (i.e., TC) in the pores, thereby yielding PPTC with stable structure and excellent adsorbing performance
Summary
The photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants on semiconductor materials is of particular significance for wastewater treatment, since the photocatalytic degradation is often realizable under mild conditions. The as-generated holes can escape from the oxidative valence of the photocatalyst to degrade organic compounds In this way, metal ion-doped semiconductor materials can provide semiconductor-based photocatalysts with charge trapping sites, thereby reducing the electron–hole pair recombination rate of the latter and extending their light response range [17]. The metal ion-doped semiconductor-based photocatalysts still face challenge of separation from the photocatalytic reaction system and are accessible to the water system, thereby causing secondary pollution. Bearing those considerations in mind, here we attempt to design a novel photocatalyst consisting of TiO2 /Cu composite (abridged as TC) and porous polymer. It deals with the photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared TiO2 , TC, and PPTC toward the degradation of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), methyl orange, phenol, and methylene blue under the irradiation of simulated sunlight (Xe lamp light) and natural sunlight
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