A study of the photocatalytic properties of chitosan-TiO₂ composites for pyrene decomposition

Tatarinov D.A., Sokolnikova S.R., Myslitskaya N.A. A study of the photocatalytic properties of chitosan-TiO₂ composites for pyrene decomposition. Scientific and Technical Journal of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, 2021, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 670–678 (in Russian). doi: 10.17586/2226-1494-2021-21-5-670-678

 In this work, nano- and microcomposites of chitosan-TiO₂ were developed for the photocatalytic decomposition of pyrene, which is one of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. TiO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by laser ablation, and their sizes were determined using the photon correlation spectroscopy method. Nano- and microcomposites based on chitosan with different TiO₂ particle contents were manufactured. The work studies the effect of nano- and microparticles of TiO₂ in the composition of manufactured nanocomposites on the photodegradation of pyrene in model solutions of dimethyl sulfoxide under ultraviolet radiation. To assess the decrease in pyrene concentrations in solutions, the authors used the method of luminescent analysis. Based on the results of the conducted studies, pseudo-first-order kinetic graphs for pyrene degradation in solutions were plotted. The analysis proves the efficiency of the obtained chitosan-TiO₂ composites for the photocatalytic decomposition of pyrene. In 60 minutes, 68 % and 55 % of pyrene were photodegraded under ultraviolet irradiation using chitosan-TiO₂ composites with TiO₂ nanoparticles and with TiO₂ microparticles, respectively. The developed chitosan-TiO₂ composites are prospective photocatalytic materials for the decomposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous media. The method of manufacturing composites does not require expensive equipment, and they are also convenient for performing photocatalytic reactions.

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