J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2017, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (8): 856-863.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2017.02.006

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Strong enhancement on dye photocatalytic degradation by ball-milled TiO2: A study of cationic and anionic dyes

Jia Z.a, La L.B.T.a, Zhang W.C.b, Liang S.X.a, Jiang B.cb, Xie S.K.e, Habibi D.a, Zhang L.C.a()   

  1. aSchool of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Perth, WA 6027, Australia
    bAustraliabEnvironmental Protection Administration of Ji’an City, Ji’an 343000, China
    cSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    dSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Beijing 100083, China
    eSchool of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Jinggangshan University, Ji’an 343000, China
  • Received:2016-11-18 Revised:2016-12-13 Accepted:2016-12-14 Online:2017-08-20 Published:2017-10-31

Abstract:

TiO2 particles with desirable properties were produced by undergoing specific durations of ball milling. Characterizations of the TiO2 particles before and after ball milling were investigated via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), particle size analysis, zeta potential, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The equilibrium adsorption data were well fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms. Compared to the as-received TiO2 (mean particle size d50 = 0.78 μm, specific surface area = 88.17 m2 g-1, pore volume = 0.41 cm3 g-1), the 60 min ball-milled TiO2 (d50 = 0.55 μm, specific surface area = 99.48 m2 g-1, pore volume = 0.48 cm3 g-1) enhanced the adsorption quantity of congo red and methylene blue from 10.4 mg g-1 to 13.6 mg g-1, and from 17.0 mg g-1 to 22.2 mg g-1, respectively; and also improved the kinetic rates from k = 0.1325 to 0.2193, and k = 0.0944 to 0.1553, respectively. Dye adsorption and degradation efficiency of congo red was enhanced in acidic pH range (2-5.14), and methylene blue was enhanced in alkaline pH range (7.58-12).

Key words: Ball-milled TiO2, Congo red, Methylene blue, Equilibrium adsorption, Photocatalysis