Preparation of titania/hydroxyapatite (TiO2/HAp) composite photocatalyst with mosaic structure for degradation of pentachlorophenol

• TiO2/HAp composite with mosaic structure was synthesized by a simple, fast and reliable method.
• A possible surface adsorption layer hydrolysis mechanism for the formation of such novel structure has been proposed.
• The as-prepared TiO2/HAp composite combines the excellent adsorption capacity of HAp and the high photocatalytic activity of TiO2, and can be used to effectively degrade persistent organic pollutant pentachlorophenol under UV irradiation.

Titania/hydroxyapatite (TiO2/HAp) composite with mosaic structure was successfully synthesized via a facile route without any structure-directing agent. XRD, EDS and FESEM were used to characterize the product. It is found that lots of spherical TiO2 particles with average diameter of about 24 nm are formed, like pearls densely inlaid in the ravines of HAp carrier surface. Meanwhile, a possible surface adsorption layer hydrolysis mechanism for the formation of such novel structure has been proposed. Experimental results show that the obtained TiO2/HAp composite, which combines the excellent adsorption capacity of HAp and the high photocatalytic activity of TiO2, can effectively degrade persistent organic pollutant pentachlorophenol under UV irradiation.