Enhanced photoactivity of Cu-deposited titanate nanotubes for removal of bisphenol A

One-dimensional nanotubes are promising nanostructured materials for a wide variety of environmental applications. In this study, the Cu-deposited titanate nanotubes (TNTs) were fabricated using an alkaline hydrothermal method at 150 °C and then 0.5–2 wt% Cu(II) ions were photodeposited onto the calcined TNTs at 500 °C for enhanced photodegradation of bisphenol A (BPA) under illumination of 365 nm UV light. The as-synthesized TNTs showed tubular structures with the outer diameter and inter-layer spacing of 7–10 and 0.8 nm, respectively. The X-ray absorption near-edge spectral results provided a strong support on the partially structural change from layered trititanate to anatase TiO2 through the distortion of octahedral TiO6 unit at 500 °C and the production of mixture of CuO and Cu2O after photodeposition of Cu ions, resulting in the formation of Cu-deposited TiO2/TNT nanocomposites to enhance the photocatalytic activity. A nearly complete removal of BPA by the Cu-deposited TiO2/TNTs was observed, and the pseudo-first-order rate constants (kobs) for BPA photodegradation by Cu-deposited TiO2/TNTs at pH 7.0 were 1.8–5.2 and 4.3–12.7 times higher than those of pure Degussa P25 and ST01 TiO2, respectively. In addition, the kobs for BPA photodegradation reached the maximum value of 0.253 ± 0.032 min−1 at 1 wt% Cu(II). The X-ray photoelectron spectra showed that the ratio of Cu2O to total Cu increased from 3.2% in the dark to 35.2% after illumination of 365 nm UV light for 5 min. In addition, electron paramagnetic resonance results indicated that the copper ions could serve as the electron mediators to prolong the retention time of photo-generated radicals, resulting in the enhancement of photodegradation efficiency and rate of BPA by Cu-deposited TiO2/TNTs.

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► The one-dimensional titanate nanotubes (TNTs) have been successfully fabricated at 150 °C for 24 h.
► The photodeposition of 0.5–2 wt% Cu(II) enhances the photocatalytic activity of TNTs.
► The pseudo-first-order rate constants for BPA photodegradation were 1.8–5.2 times higher than those of P25.
► The copper ions serve as the electron mediators to prolong the retention time of photo-generated radicals.