IJBET 2017 Volume 6 Issue 3

International Journal of BioEngineering and Technology (IJBET) ISSN: 0976 - 2965

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Application of Titanium Dioxide-Graphene Nanocomposite Material in Visible Light Radiation for Photocatalytic Degradation of Water Pollutants. Farid Abu Shammala and Kelvin O'Halloran. IJBET (2017), 6(3):18-31

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Title:

Application of Titanium Dioxide-Graphene Nanocomposite Material in Visible Light Radiation for Photocatalytic Degradation of Water Pollutants

Authors & Affiliation:

Farid Abu Shammala1 and Kelvin O'Halloran2

1 Faculty of Engineering, University of Palestine , El-Zahra City, Gaza, Palestine

2 Scientific Services and Data Systems, Seqwater, 117 Brisbane St., Ipswich, Queensland 4305, Australia

drfaridshammala@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT:

The water pollutant compounds were photocatalytically remediated from water using graphene oxide (GEO)-titanium oxide (TiO2) nanocomposite material in visible light radiation. The GEO -TiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized using sol-gel technique, and its structural & morphological properties were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), particle analyzer based techniques, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, fluorescence emission spectroscopy and UV-Visible spectroscopy. Thus, this research reports the photocatalytic effectiveness of GEO-TiO2 nanocomposite material in the degradation of four petroleum-based chemicals (2, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 4-chlorophenol, Toluene and naphthalene), under the conditions defined in this research. 96% of 2, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 94% of 4-chlorophenol, 90% of toluene, only 40% of naphthalene remediation from the contamination water for exposure of only 2 hour of visible light, without using surfactant. And 98% of 2, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 95% of 4-chlorophenol, 92% of toluene, only 55% of naphthalene remediation from the contamination water for exposure of only 2 hour of visible light, with using surfactant. Moreover, 99.5% of 2, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 98.8% of 4-chlorophenol, 98.5% of toluene, 96% of naphthalene have been remediated using GEO-TiO2 nanomaterial under UV light. The degradation of water pollutants was monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Thus, photocatalytic activity to remove organic pollutants from water employing GEO-TiO2 nanocomposite without doping is successfully showed, and therefore, a new gate in research for these materials is opened.

Keywords: GEO -TiO2, photocatalyst, decontamination, 2, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 4-chlorophenol, Toluene, Naphthalene