Abstract
Brand-new catalyst of C-modified and N-doped TiO2 (T3FN1) were synthesized by the hydro-thermal method using Tetrabutyl titanate (TBOT) and feathers of chicken as the precursor. It was found that thanks to the abundant TiO2 nanoparticles (anatase phase) distribution around the outer surface of feathers template, the catalyst displayed a typical 3D surface folded rod-shaped micron structure. After 30 min visible-light illumination, the degradation rate of TCH reached 89.8% with T3FN1, 1.52 times and 2.62 times higher than that of TiO2 without template (T3) and P25, respectively. Mechanism studies revealed that chicken feathers were used as natural organic templates to increase the dispersity of TiO2 meanwhile nitrogen in it was directly doped into TiO2 to improve the catalysts’ response to visible light. Beyond that, carbon of chicken feathers can be utilized directly as the transmission medium for electric charges to improve the spatial separation of photo-induced carriers. Moreover, with a wide pH range of adaptability and stability, the degradation rate of TCH by T3FN1 can still reach 83.15% after 5 cycles. Given its unique structure and photocatalytic performance, the catalyst has great potential in practical wastewater treatment.
NSTL
Elsevier