ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Physicochemical properties of TIO₂, ZrO₂, Fe₃O₄ nanocrystalline adsorbents and photocatalysts

Tetiana Dontsova, Svitlana Kyrii, Olena Yanushevska, Volodymyr Suprunchuk, and Iryna Kosogina

Department of Technology of Inorganic Substances, Water Purification and General Chemical Technology, National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Kiev, Ukraine

E-mail: l_rrr@ukr.net

Received: 5 April 2022  Accepted: 15 August 2022

Abstract:

Nanostructured metal oxides and composites based on them are promising materials for use in different areas, such as electronics, sensors, ceramics, adsorbents, catalysts, and others. However, many studies about the synthesis conditions influence of various metal oxides and their composites on their physicochemical properties and the purposeful control of these properties remain under question. The article considers the conditions for obtaining nanomaterials and nanocomposites of metal oxides (TiO₂, ZrO₂, Fe₃O₄) on their properties. The relevance of this direction is due to the promising usage of metal oxide nanomaterials and especially nanocomposites as adsorbents and photocatalysts for purifying wastewater from pollutants of different nature. TiO₂, ZrO₂, Fe₃O₄ nanomaterials and nanocomposites based on them were obtained by various wet synthesis methods (sol–gel, hydrothermal, chemical deposition, and impregnation). The influence of the main synthesis parameters of TiO₂, ZrO₂, Fe₃O₄ nanomaterials, and nanocomposites on their physicochemical properties were studied by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, as well as low-temperature nitrogen adsorption–desorption. It is shown that the synthesis method significantly affects the physicochemical properties of metal oxide nanomaterials. It is established that a given modification of TiO₂ or ZrO₂ can be obtained by adjusting the crystallite size during the synthesis. It is found that the synthesized TiO₂/SnO₂, TiO₂/CdS, activated carbon/ZrO₂ and clay minerals/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites in all cases have better adsorption and photocatalytic properties compared to individual metal oxide phases. To study the adsorption–catalytic properties of TiO₂, Fe₃O₄ metal oxides and their composites, the traditional organic molecules Methylene Blue and Congo Red were chosen; to study the ion–exchange characteristics of ZrO₂ metal oxides and its composites, phosphate and iron (III) ions were selected. Thus, modification of individual phases of metal oxides allows controlling their adsorption, ion exchange and photocatalytic properties. This is caused by the synergistic effects observed in nanocomposites related to the improvement of textural and surface characteristics and the formation of multiple acid–base centers on their surface.

Keywords: Titanium (IV) oxide; Zirconium dioxide; Magnetite; Metal-oxide nanomaterials; Sol-gel technology; Solvothermal synthesis; Chemical precipitation; Impregnation; Characterization; Structural characteristics; Adsorption; Photocatalytic properties

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-022-02433-4

Chemical Papers 76 (12) 7667–7683 (2022)