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•Microwave-assisted hydrothermal method is used to prepare phase pure anatase TiO2.•TiO2 particles are nanosized and mesoporous in nature.•TiO2 particles exhibited very high N2 ...adsorption capacity.•Photodegradation efficiency of 98% was achieved in degrading methylene blue dye using TiO2 particles.
Among the different polymorphs of TiO2, the anatase form has the highest photocatalytic activity. However, preparing anatase TiO2 typically requires long reaction times, high pressures, or both. Therefore, it is important to develop easy and quick methods to prepare anatase TiO2. In these lines, an easy microwave-assisted hydrothermal method is used in this work to prepare mesoporous and phase pure anatase TiO2 nanospheres (ATNS) with an average crystallite size of ∼ 10 nm. Titanium butoxide and methanol are used as the precursor and solvent, respectively, to prepare ATNS. Due to its moderate loss tangent value of ∼ 0.659, methanol aids in the efficient absorption of microwaves and rapid local heating for the reaction to complete quickly, leading to the formation of TiO2 nanospheres with mesoporosity, a high specific surface area of 60.46 m2/g, and a high N2 adsorption capacity. ANTS photodegrade methylene blue dye with an efficiency as high as 98 %. The enhanced intrinsic photocatalytic activity of ATNS is attributed to the combined effect of mesoporosity, high specific surface area, and high N2 adsorption capacity.
A microwave-assisted hydrothermal solution synthesis methodology is used to prepare 3D hierarchical flowery TiO
2
microspheres quickly and without calcination. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed ...that the microspheres are crystallized in the anatase form. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the anatase 3D hierarchical flowery TiO
2
microspheres comprised many nm-thick petal-like features evenly distributed in each microsphere. The use of microwaves (for only 10 min at 200 W) acted as the additional source of energy that resulted in the accelerated growth of flowery TiO
2
microspheres that otherwise would require long durations to form under only hydrothermal conditions. The microspheres exhibited a large specific surface area of 87.58 m
2
g
−1
and unique pore characteristics, making them suitable for photocatalysis. In this context, the measured photodegradation efficiency of the 3D hierarchical flowery anatase-TiO
2
microspheres in degrading methylene blue dye was as high as 98%.
A microwave-assisted hydrothermal solution synthesis methodology is used to prepare 3D hierarchical flowery TiO2 microspheres quickly and without calcination. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed ...that the microspheres are crystallized in the anatase form. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the anatase 3D hierarchical flowery TiO2 microspheres comprised many nm-thick petal-like features evenly distributed in each microsphere. The use of microwaves (for only 10 min at 200 W) acted as the additional source of energy that resulted in the accelerated growth of flowery TiO2 microspheres that otherwise would require long durations to form under only hydrothermal conditions. The microspheres exhibited a large specific surface area of 87.58 m2 g−1 and unique pore characteristics, making them suitable for photocatalysis. In this context, the measured photodegradation efficiency of the 3D hierarchical flowery anatase-TiO2 microspheres in degrading methylene blue dye was as high as 98%.
A microwave-assisted hydrothermal solution synthesis methodology is used to prepare 3D hierarchical flowery TiO
2
microspheres quickly and without calcination. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed ...that the microspheres are crystallized in the anatase form. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the anatase 3D hierarchical flowery TiO
2
microspheres comprised many nm-thick petal-like features evenly distributed in each microsphere. The use of microwaves (for only 10 min at 200 W) acted as the additional source of energy that resulted in the accelerated growth of flowery TiO
2
microspheres that otherwise would require long durations to form under only hydrothermal conditions. The microspheres exhibited a large specific surface area of 87.58 m
2
g
−1
and unique pore characteristics, making them suitable for photocatalysis. In this context, the measured photodegradation efficiency of the 3D hierarchical flowery anatase-TiO
2
microspheres in degrading methylene blue dye was as high as 98%.
A microwave-assisted hydrothermal solution synthesis methodology is used to prepare 3D hierarchical flowery TiO
2
microspheres quickly and without calcination.
The application of a novel BiFeO3 (BFO)-black TiO2 (BTO) composite (called BFOT) as a photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue is reported. The p–n heterojunction photocatalyst was ...synthesized for the first time through microwave-assisted co-precipitation synthesis to change the molar ratio of BTO in BiFeO3 to increase the photocatalytic efficiency of the BiFeO3 photocatalyst. The UV–visible properties of p–n heterostructures showed excellent absorption of visible light and reduced electron–hole recombination properties compared to the pure-phase BFO. Photocatalytic studies on BFOT10, BFOT20, and BFOT30 have shown that they decompose methylene blue (MB) in sunlight better than pure-phase BFO in 70 min. The BFOT30 photocatalyst was the most effective at reducing MB when exposed to visible light (97%). Magnetic studies have shown that BTO is diamagnetic, and the BFOT10 photocatalyst exhibits a very weak antiferromagnetic behavior, whereas BFOT20 and BFO30 show diamagnetic behavior. This study confirms that the catalyst has poor stability and weak magnetic recovery properties due to the non-magnetic phase BTO in the BFO.
The application of a novel BiFeO
(BFO)-black TiO
(BTO) composite (called BFOT) as a photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue is reported. The p-n heterojunction photocatalyst was ...synthesized for the first time through microwave-assisted co-precipitation synthesis to change the molar ratio of BTO in BiFeO
to increase the photocatalytic efficiency of the BiFeO
photocatalyst. The UV-visible properties of p-n heterostructures showed excellent absorption of visible light and reduced electron-hole recombination properties compared to the pure-phase BFO. Photocatalytic studies on BFOT10, BFOT20, and BFOT30 have shown that they decompose methylene blue (MB) in sunlight better than pure-phase BFO in 70 min. The BFOT30 photocatalyst was the most effective at reducing MB when exposed to visible light (97%). Magnetic studies have shown that BTO is diamagnetic, and the BFOT10 photocatalyst exhibits a very weak antiferromagnetic behavior, whereas BFOT20 and BFO30 show diamagnetic behavior. This study confirms that the catalyst has poor stability and weak magnetic recovery properties due to the non-magnetic phase BTO in the BFO.
