Hydrothermal Synthesis of K₂Ti₆O₁₃ Nanotubes/Nanoparticles: A Photodegradation Study on Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B Dyes

Abstract

The degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B dyes using potassium hexatitanate nanoparticles (KTNPs) and potassium hexatitanate nanotubes (KTNTs) synthesized via a hydrothermal method as efficient photocatalysts under UV light irradiation was investigated. The kinetics of degradation was determined for the two different catalysts––KTNPs and KTNTs––by monitoring the optical absorption of the dyes. The as-synthesized KTNPs were found to be spherical in shape with an average particle size of ∼36 ± 1.7 nm, whereas the KTNTs evidenced a tubular hollow structure with ∼7 nm internal diameter and ∼12 nm external diameter, as perused by structural and morphological studies. The larger surface area of KTNTs showed a greater impact on the photodegradation of dyes manifesting their high potential as compared to KTNPs under UV irradiation, and the reusability studies showed more than 90% (KTNTs) and 80% (KTNPs) degradation of the dyes even after the fourth cycle elucidating their stability.

Application of Titanate Nanotubes for Photocatalytic Decontamination in Water: Challenges and Prospects

“…Figure c presents the crystalline structures of the three types of TNTs, and the compositions of TNTs are mainly dominated by the synthesis process. Specifically, TiO 2 particles (anatase, rutile, or P25) are immersed in a high concentration of alkaline solution (NaOH or KOH) and then heated in facile conditions (generally <200 °C), and Na-TNTs (Na x H 2– x Ti 3 O 7 or Na 2 Ti 6 O 13 ) and K-TNTs (K 2 Ti 6 O 13 ) , can be fabricated (eqs –). Post-treatment using inorganic acid (HCl, HClO 4 , HNO 3 , H 2 SO 4 ) can further obtain H-TNTs (H 2 Ti 3 O 7 , eq ).…”

“…36-0654). K-TNTs is a hexatitanate with a chemical formula of K 2 Ti 6 O 13 (space group C 2/ m with monoclinic system a = 15.5 Å, b = 3.82 Å, c = 9.1 Å, β = 99.5°, JCPDS No. 40-0403).…”

“…The conventional TNTs can be classified into three types, i.e., sodium titanate (Na-TNTs), hydrogen titanate (H-TNTs), and potassium titanate (K-TNTs). Alkali-hydrothermal treatment is the most popular method for TNTs synthesis, ,,,− in which a TiO 2 precursor is heated in a high concentration of NaOH/KOH solution. The morphology, structure, and composition of TNTs can be well designed by controlling the synthesis conditions, such as the crystal phase of the TiO 2 precursor, , alkaline concentration, − reaction solvent, − hydrothermal temperature, ,− hydrothermal time, ,− washing acids, ,,− etc .…”

Spider‐Silk‐Inspired Nanocomposite Polymers for Durable Daytime Radiative Cooling

“…[21][22][23] Herein, inspired by spider silk, we demonstrated polymer-based PDRC materials with significantly enhanced mechanical and photostabilities, through potassium titanate (K 2 Ti 6 O 13 ) nanofibers doped nanocomposite structure (Figure 1e). [24,25] To effectively enhance the mechanical properties and UV stabilities without affecting the optical properties of PDRC polymers, the option of dopant is critical. There are unique advantages of doping K 2 Ti 6 O 13 (PT) nanofibers in PDRC polymers.…”

Elastic properties of A 2Ti6O13 ( A= H, Li, Na, K and Rb): a computational study

“…nanotubes, nanowires, nanorods, whiskers, etc) has led to the use of alkali hexatitanates as reinforcements and friction materials [4][5][6], among other applications. While studies on the structural, microstructural, electronic, optical, and electrical properties of A 2 Ti 6 O 13 are quite extensive in experiment [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], there are also other theoretical works on this topic to be found in the literature [4,[16][17][18][19]. However, the investigation into the mechanical/elastic properties have been limited [4,20].…”