Synthesis and Characterization of Manganese-Modified Black TiO2 Nanoparticles and Their Performance Evaluation for the Photodegradation of Phenolic Compounds from Wastewater

Muhammad Irfan; Rab Nawaz; Javed Akbar Khan; Habib Ullah; Tahir Haneef; Stanislaw Legutko; Saifur Rahman; Jerzy Józwik; Mabkhoot A Alsaiari; Mohammad Kamal Asif Khan; Salim Nasar Faraj Mursal; Fahad Salem AlKahtani; Omar Alshorman; Abdulnour Ali Jazem Ghanim

doi:10.3390/ma14237422

Synthesis and Characterization of Manganese-Modified Black TiO₂ Nanoparticles and Their Performance Evaluation for the Photodegradation of Phenolic Compounds from Wastewater

Materials (Basel). 2021 Dec 3;14(23):7422. doi: 10.3390/ma14237422.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Najran University Saudi Arabia, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia.
² Fundamental and Applied Sciences (FASD), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia.
³ Centre of Innovative Nanostructures and Nanodevices (COINN), Institute of Autonomous Systems, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia.
⁴ Mechanical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia.
⁶ Institute of Mechanical Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland.
⁷ Department of Production Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, 36 Nadbystrzycka Street, 20-618 Lublin, Poland.
⁸ Empty Quarter Research Unit, Chemistry Department, College of Science and Art at Sharurah, Najran University Saudi Arabia, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Najran University Saudi Arabia, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Najran University Saudi Arabia, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The release of phenolic-contaminated treated palm oil mill effluent (TPOME) poses a severe threat to human and environmental health. In this work, manganese-modified black TiO₂ (Mn-B-TiO₂) was produced for the photodegradation of high concentrations of total phenolic compounds from TPOME. A modified glycerol-assisted technique was used to synthesize visible-light-sensitive black TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs), which were then calcined at 300 °C for 60 min for conversion to anatase crystalline phase. The black TiO₂ was further modified with manganese by utilizing a wet impregnation technique. Visible light absorption, charge carrier separation, and electron-hole pair recombination suppression were all improved when the band structure of TiO₂ was tuned by producing Ti³⁺ defect states. As a result of the enhanced optical and electrical characteristics of black TiO₂ NPs, phenolic compounds were removed from TPOME at a rate of 48.17%, which is 2.6 times higher than P25 (18%). When Mn was added to black TiO₂ NPs, the Ti ion in the TiO₂ lattice was replaced by Mn, causing a large redshift of the optical absorption edges and enhanced photodegradation of phenolic compounds from TPOME. The photodegradation efficiency of phenolic compounds by Mn-B-TiO₂ improved to 60.12% from 48.17% at 0.3 wt% Mn doping concentration. The removal efficiency of phenolic compounds from TPOME diminished when Mn doping exceeded the optimum threshold (0.3 wt%). According to the findings, Mn-modified black TiO₂ NPs are the most effective, as they combine the advantages of both black TiO₂ and Mn doping.

Keywords: bandgap; black TiO2 nanoparticles; manganese doping; phenolic compounds; photodegradation; visible light absorption; wastewater treatment.

Abstract

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