High-Capacity and Photoregenerable Composite Material for Efficient Adsorption and Degradation of Phenanthrene in Water.
We report a novel composite material, referred to as activated charcoal supported titanate nanotubes (TNTs@AC), for highly efficient adsorption and photodegradation of a representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), phenanthrene. TNTs@AC was prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method, and is composed of an activated charcoal core and a shell of carbon-coated titanate nanotubes. TNTs@AC offered a maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of 12.1 mg/g for phenanthrene (a model PAH), which is ∼11 times higher than the parent activated charcoal. Phenanthrene was rapidly concentrated onto TNTs@AC, and subsequently completely photodegraded under UV light within 2 h. The photoregenerated TNTs@AC can then be reused for another adsorption-photodegradation cycle without significant capacity or activity loss. TNTs@AC performed well over a wide range of pH, ionic strength, and dissolved organic matter. Mechanistically, the enhanced adsorption capacity is attributed to the formation of carbon-coated ink-bottle pores of the titanate nanotubes, which are conducive to capillary condensation; in addition, the modified microcarbon facilitates transfer of excited electrons, thereby inhibiting recombination of the electron-hole pairs, resulting in high photocatalytic activity. The combined high adsorption capacity, photocatalytic activity, and regenerability/reusability merit TNTs@AC a very attractive material for concentrating and degrading a host of micropollutants in the environment.
Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University , Auburn, Alabama 36849, United States.
Wen
W
Liu
Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University , Auburn, Alabama 36849, United States.
Zhengqing
Z
Cai
Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University , Auburn, Alabama 36849, United States.
Xiao
X
Zhao
Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, China.
Ting
T
Wang
Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University , Auburn, Alabama 36849, United States.
Fan
F
Li
Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University , Auburn, Alabama 36849, United States.
Dongye
D
Zhao
D000327:Adsorption; D010616:Phenanthrenes; D014025:Titanium; D014867:Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
D010616:Phenanthrenes; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; D014025:Titanium