Fabrication of cerium titanate cellulose fiber nanocomposite materials for the removal of methyl orange and methylene blue from polluted water by photocatalytic degradation

Abstract

In this study, cellulose fibers (Cf), extracted from sunflower seed husk, and different molar ratios of cerium titanate (Ce-Ti) NPs were prepared from sunflower seed husk extract by a green biosynthesis approach. Cf and Ce-Ti NPs were reacted via cross-linking reaction to synthesize a novel nanocomposite photocatalyst of Ce-Ti/Cf. Using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX) spectroscopy, all manufactured materials were characterized. The results obtained from FTIR and EDX analyses indicated that Cf and its nanocomposites (0.1 Ce-Ti/Cf, 0.3 Ce-Ti/Cf, and 0.5 Ce-Ti/Cf) were successfully prepared by harnessing biomass extract from sunflower seed husk. Furthermore, XRD revealed that the degree of crystallinity of the nanocomposites was enhanced by increasing the molar ratios of the Ce-Ti NPs. The photocatalytic activity of as-fabricated 0.1 Ce-Ti/Cf, 0.3 Ce-Ti/Cf, and 0.5 Ce-Ti/Cf nanocomposite samples was investigated on methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dyes as model organic compounds found in wastewaters. The effects of dose, contact time, and pH on the photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanocomposites, the photodegradation kinetic parameters of MB, and MO degradation with/without the addition of H2O2 were also studied. The results revealed that high photodegradation efficiency could be obtained as the ratio of TiO2 in the Ce-Ti nanocomposite formula increases. Moreover, after sunlight irradiation, the adsorption capacity and the dye decomposition ratio significantly increase during the early contact time and reach equilibrium at about 240 and 120 min for 0.5 Ce-Ti/Cf nanocomposite photocatalyst in the absence and presence of hydrogen peroxide, respectively. In light of the obtained results and the practical wastewater treatment study conducted, the prepared photocatalyst from Ce-Ti/Cf nanocomposites could be a promising material for treating dye wastewater especially collected from Egypt.

Valorization of pea by-products for the isolation of cellulosic microfibers: extraction and physico-chemical characterization

“…The two peaks observed at 2917 and 2848 cm -1 correspond to the vibrations of the C-H functions present in methyl and methylene. These peaks also represent the wax component on fiber surface (Kotp 2022). A significant reduction of their intensity was observed for the extracted cellulose demonstrating the efficiency of the dewaxing treatment.…”

“…A significant reduction of their intensity was observed for the extracted cellulose demonstrating the efficiency of the dewaxing treatment. The peak seen at ~1623 cm -1 is related to -OH bending of the absorbed water (Abdullah et al 2016;Kotp 2022). The band at 1418 cm -1 is associated with the CH2 symmetric bending (Abdullah et al 2016).…”

“…The C-O-C vibration at the C6 carbon of glucose units of cellulose and hemicelluloses was depicted at 1012 cm -1 (Melikoğlu et al 2019;Li et al 2020). The peak located at 922 cm -1 is attributed to the C-O-C stretch of the β-(14) glycosidic linkages present in cellulose (Khenblouche et al 2019;Kotp 2022).…”

Influence of ozone supply mode and aeration on photocatalytic ozonation of organic pollutants in wastewater using TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles

“…Various methods are used for wastewater treatment, including Fenton's chemical oxidation, electrochemical decomposition, cation exchange membranes, filtration, nanofiltration [ 4 ], coagulation, reverse osmosis, chemical separation of pollutants, surface adsorption on activated carbon, biological purification, and photocatalyst [ 5 ]. However, these methods aren't always efficient and have disadvantages such as high cost and high energy consumption.…”

Anatase-cellulose acetate for reinforced desalination membrane with antibacterial properties

“…Cellulose is a biodegradable and cheap polymer on earth that can be recycled from agricultural wastes to make films and membranes. The current biodegradable properties of cellulose limit its practical applications [ 11 , 12 ]. In this study, we will incorporate anastase between cellulose acetate (CA) membranes to reinforce it.…”