Visible light induced molecularly imprinted Dawson-type heteropoly acid cobalt (II) salt modified TiO2 composites: Enhanced photocatalytic activity for the removal of ethylparaben

Publication date: Available online 18 November 2019Source: Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering AspectsAuthor(s): Changchao Zhan, Xiaohua Cao, Bingjie Xu, Ping Yan, Tao Yang, Zhigang Ye, Xiudong ChenAbstractVisible light induced molecularly imprinted titania modified with Dawson-type Co3P2W18O62·15H2O nanocomposites (CWMT), as a recycled visible light responsive photocatalysts, were prepared successfully by the method of impregnation, stepwise acidification and sol-gel using ethylparaben (EP) as the template. Various characterization techniques were employed for the study, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron micro-scope (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS), nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The results showed that the modification of Co3P2W18O62·15H2O resulted in not only an increase in the surface area, and the pore volume of molecular imprinted titania, but also in inhibition of recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. EP molecules in aqueous solutions were chosen as the target pollutant to evaluate photocatalytic activity of the obtained samples. Photo-degrad...
Source: Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research