Abstract
Abstract Harmful algal blooms (HABs) found in various water bodies worldwide have been a huge concern due to their adverse impacts on human health and ecosystems. In particular, HABs associated with cyanobacteria have been of great interest because of their potential to generate and release biological toxins, especially, lethal microcystins (MCs). The overall goal of this study was to develop a new sustainable approach to decompose MCs, preferably on-site and in real-time with minimal effort, fewer chemicals, and low energy inputs. To achieve the goal, a high efficiency nitrogen-doped TiO2 photocatalytic film immobilized onto a glass substrate was fabricated via integrated sol-gel synthesis employing nitrogen-containing surfactants as pore-templating agent and nitrogen-dopant. The film exhibited visible light-activated, nanoporous, and transparent properties. Effects of surfactant type, calcination temperature, coating layers, and reaction pH on the photocatalytic decomposition of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) were investigated under visible light. Eventually, the TiO2 film was able to successfully decompose MC-LR on-site in a lake under solar radiation in real-time. This study implies the high potential of the TiO2 film for on-site and real-time decomposition of many organic contaminants in water by using sustainable solar energy.
Highlights
Contamination of water resources with natural and anthropogenic chemicals has been a huge concern worldwide
In order to achieve the goal and to fulfill the requirements, this study proposes to use a high efficiency nitrogen-doped TiO2 photocatalytic film immobilized onto a glass substrate
A series of nitrogen-doped mesoporous transparent TiO2 photocatalytic thin film (N-TiO2) films were synthesized at different calcination temperatures
Summary
Contamination of water resources with natural and anthropogenic chemicals has been a huge concern worldwide. The increasing occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) alarms water and health authorities and the general public (Nfodzo et al ). HABs associated with cyanobacteria (so-called cyano-HABs) produce and release lethal biological toxins such as microcystins (MCs) (Bownik ). MCs are a group of natural toxins that act as hepatotoxins and promote formation of tumors (Antoniou et al ). Animal poisoning and fish killing have been reported in conjunction with MCs, resulting in significant economic losses (Svircev et al ; Bownik ).
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