title: Facile synthesis of hierarchical porous TiO(2) ceramics with enhanced photocatalytic performance for micropolluted pesticide degradation.
abstract: In this research, hierarchical porous TiO2 ceramics were successfully synthesized through a camphene-based freeze-drying route. The well-dispersed TiO2 slurries were first frozen and dried at room temperature, followed by high-temperature sintering. The ceramics were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Results indicated that the obtained TiO2 ceramics could inhibit undesirable anatase-to-rutile phase transformation and grain growth even at temperatures as high as 800 °C. In this experiment, optimal compressive strength and porosity of the TiO2 ceramics were produced with the initial TiO2 slurry content of ∼15 wt %. The resultant TiO2 ceramics performed excellently in the photodegradation of atrazine and thiobencarb, and the total organic carbon removal efficiency was up to 95.7% and 96.7%, respectively. More importantly, the TiO2 ceramics were easily recyclable. No obvious changes of the photocatalytic performance were observed after six cycles. Furthermore, the ceramics also effectively degraded other pesticides such as dimethoate, lindane, dipterex, malathion, and bentazone. These hierarchical porous TiO2 ceramics have potential applications in environmental cleanup.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering Process and Technology for High-Efficiency Conversion, College of Heilongjiang Province, Department of Environmental Science, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zipeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Linlin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhenzi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: floating photocatalyst; pesticide micropolluted water; photocatalysis; porous TiO2 ceramics; room-temperature freeze-drying