Insight into UV-induced simultaneous photocatalytic degradation of Ti3C2Tx MXene and reduction of U(VI)

Lili Chen; Muhammad Wakeel; Tanveer Ul Haq; Changlun Chen; Xuemei Ren

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128377

Insight into UV-induced simultaneous photocatalytic degradation of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene and reduction of U(VI)

J Hazard Mater. 2022 May 15:430:128377. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128377. Epub 2022 Jan 29.

Authors

Lili Chen¹, Muhammad Wakeel², Tanveer Ul Haq², Changlun Chen³, Xuemei Ren⁴

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic and Energy Conservation Materials, Institute of Plasma Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1126, Hefei 230031, PR China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, PR China.
² Department of Soil and Environmental Science, MNS-Agriculture University Multan, Pakistan.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic and Energy Conservation Materials, Institute of Plasma Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1126, Hefei 230031, PR China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, PR China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic and Energy Conservation Materials, Institute of Plasma Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1126, Hefei 230031, PR China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, PR China. Electronic address: renxm1985@163.com.

PMID: 35152104
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128377

Abstract

With the development of MXene as the efficient adsorbent for U(VI), the tendency of MXene coming into contact with U(VI) in wastewaters increases. Motivated by UV light irradiation applied in wastewater treatments, the UV light induced photochemical co-transformation of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene and U(VI) is studied. To clarify the role of U(VI) induced Ti₃C₂T_x aggregation in phototransformation of Ti₃C₂T_x, the aggregation kinetics of Ti₃C₂T_x in the presence of various valent radioactive ions are investigated, obtaining the critical coagulation concentrations (CCC) of Ti₃C₂T_x for Cs⁺, Sr²⁺, UO₂²⁺, Eu³⁺, and Th⁴⁺. Besides, the colloidal stability of UV-induced Ti₃C₂T_x as a function of standing time is discussed. The results show that the aggregation behavior of Ti₃C₂T_x induced by radioactive ions follows the classical Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory and the Schulze-Hardy rule. The UV irradiation will change the physicochemical properties and colloidal stabilities of Ti₃C₂T_x. Furthermore, the degradation of Ti₃C₂T_x can be accelerated by UV irradiation and further promoted by the presence of U(VI). The removal of U(VI) is highest in the case of Ti₃C₂T_x combined with UV irradiation via adsorption and reduction. This study provides an example demonstrating that the simultaneous transformation of Ti₃C₂T_x (adsorbent) and U(VI) (adsorbate) to mild toxic components.

Keywords: Aggregation behaviors; Photochemical transformation; Ti(3)C(2)T(x); U(VI).