Enhanced adsorption capacity of porous titanium dioxide nanoparticles synthetized in alkaline sol

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, the exploitation of natural resources and industrial development have led to the production of harmful pollutants. Much of these contaminants end up in water resources, reducing the availability of drinking water. Therefore, it is necessary to find remedies to this situation. Solutions could be the adsorption or the degradation through photocatalysis of these compounds. A good candidate for this task is titanium dioxide (TiO2), due to its non-toxicity, stability and low cost. In this work, we propose a novel synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs), with high adsorption capacity, produced at low temperature in alkaline environment. Adsorption tests were conducted using methylene blue and diclofenac as model pollutants. Moreover, the obtained NPs have been characterized through Raman spectroscopy, Scanning and Transmission electron microscopies and with thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed a porous structure with a high surface area, able to efficiently adsorb large amounts of dye from the aqueous solution. These properties make the obtained TiO2 powders suitable for applications devoted to the adsorption and recovery of harmful compounds. Graphic abstract