Abstract
Photocatalytic degradation is an eco-friendly and sustainable method for the treatment of water pollutants especially tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). Herein, we developed F-doped H2Ti3O7-{104} nanorods with oxygen vacancies using TiOF2 as a precursor by simple alkali hydrothermal and ion-exchange methods. The phase structure, surface composition, optical properties, specific surface areas and charge separation were analysed by a series of measurements. The effects of KOH concentration on the structure and properties of H2Ti3O7 were investigated. It is confirmed that the TiOF2/H2Ti3O7 composite can be formed in low concentration KOH solution (1 mol L−1), while the H2Ti3O7 single phase can be formed in high concentration KOH solution (>3 mol L−1). The prepared F-doped H2Ti3O7-{104} nanorods provide a high specific surface area of 457 m2 g−1 and a macroporous volume of 0.69 cm3 g−1. The appropriate mesoporous structure of the photocatalyst makes TCH have a stronger affinity on its surface, which is more conducive to the subsequent photodegradation. Moreover, a synergistic mechanism of photosensitization and ligand–metal charge transfer (LMCT) in the photocatalytic degradation of TCH was proposed. In addition, the prepared F-doped H2Ti3O7-{104} nanorods showed excellent cycle stability and resistance to light corrosion. After five cycles of photodegradation, the degradation rate of TCH was only reduced from 92% to 83%. This low-cost strategy could be used for the mass production of efficient photocatalysts, which can be used for TCH clean-up in wastewater treatment.
Highlights
With the widespread use of antibiotics, they have become a new pollutant in the water environment in recent years
When Tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) is attached to the surface of 10 M-TiOF2, the photocurrent intensity is signi cantly increased, which means that the ligand–metal charge transfer (LMCT) mechanism formed when TCH is adsorbed on the surface of 10 M-TiOF2 can effectively promote the rapid transfer of charge carriers, thereby enhancing the photocatalytic activity
F-doped H2Ti3O7-{104} nanorods with oxygen vacancies can be prepared by alkaline hydrothermal method combined with ion-exchange method using TiOF2 as precursor
Summary
With the widespread use of antibiotics, they have become a new pollutant in the water environment in recent years. The most common method is to synthesize Na2Ti3O7 by alkaline hydrothermal method with Ti-based material as the precursor and NaOH as the promoter, and obtain H2Ti3O7 by the H+ exchange method. Chang et al.[28] synthesized H2Ti3O7 nanowires directly on titanium foil through a simple alkaline hydrothermal and ion-exchange process. Xiao et al.[29] prepared H2Ti3O7 nanobelts by alkaline hydrothermal and HCl ion-exchange with Degussa P25 as precursor and NaOH as stripping agent. Through simple HCl ion-exchange, K2Ti3O7 is further transformed into F-doped H2Ti3O7 nanorods with oxygen vacancies. We reported a method to synthesize F-doped H2Ti3O7-{104} nanorods with oxygen vacancies by alkaline hydrothermal method and ion exchange method using cubic TiOF2 as the precursor KOH as the promoter. This study provides a new idea for the preparation of H2Ti3O7 photocatalyst and the degradation of TCH
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 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
