Enhancing the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles using green Carbon quantum dots

Document Type : Reasearch Paper

Authors

• Irié Bi Irié Williams ^{1, 2}
• Essy Kouadio Fodjo ²
• Kouyaté Amadou ³
• Trokourey Albert ²
• Cong Kong ^{1, 4}

¹ Key Laboratory of East China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai 200090, China.

² Laboratory of Constitution and Reaction of Matter, UFR SSMT, Université Felix Houphouet Boigny, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Cote d’Ivoire.

³ Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, BP 150 Daloa, Cote d’Ivoire.

⁴ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine (Academy of Forensic Science), Shanghai 200063, China.

10.22034/ijnd.2022.685460

Abstract

A simple and green method based on chemical fragmentation of wood charcoal is used to produce carbon quantum dots (CQDs). These CQDs are used to form a nanocomposite with synthesized titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂/CQDs). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of this TiO₂/CQDs nanocomposite has revealed that the presence of CQDs in these TiO₂/CQDs does not affect the TiO₂ NPs crystalline structure; while the characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis shows a porous structure of TiO₂ NPs and TiO₂/CQDs resulting from the aggregation of nanoparticles with a mean size of around 25 nm and 30 nm for TiO₂ NPs and TiO₂/CQDs, respectively. Furthermore, a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis displays particle size around 4 nm for CQDs. Besides, the reflectance study in the visible range shows that the presence of CQDs reduces the reflection of sunlight by TiO₂ NPs in TiO₂/CQDs nanocomposite. Moreover, compared to TiO₂ NPs, TiO₂/CQDs have a higher rate for methylene blue (MB) photocatalytic degradation. Indeed, an efficiency of up to 100% within ten minutes of sun exposure for the degradation of 7.5 mg/L MB can be achieved using TiO₂/CQDs in opposition to thirty minutes using TiO₂NPs under the same conditions. This efficiency is obviously due to the reduction of the reflective properties of TiO₂ NPs in the visible range by the presence of CQDs in the TiO₂/CQDs nanocomposite. These results suggest that TiO₂/CQDs could be used as heterogeneous photocatalyst for the degradation of similar compounds in water bodies under solar irradiation.

Keywords

• Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs)
• Fluorescent CQDs
• Methylene Blue Photocatalytic Degradation
• Reduction of TiO2 Reflective Property
• TiO2 Nanoparticle Synthesis

20.1001.1.20088868.2022.13.2.1.5

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