| Autor: |
Jędras A; Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, Department of Mineralogy, Petrography and Geochemistry, AGH University of Krakow, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland., Matusik J; Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, Department of Mineralogy, Petrography and Geochemistry, AGH University of Krakow, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland., Dhanaraman E; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Dong Hwa University, Shou-Feng, Hualien 97401, Taiwan., Fu YP; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Dong Hwa University, Shou-Feng, Hualien 97401, Taiwan., Cempura G; Faculty of Metal Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, International Centre of Electron Microscopy for Materials Science, AGH University of Krakow, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland. |
| Abstrakt: |
Estrone is an emerging contaminant found in waters and soils all over the world. Conventional water treatment methods are not suitable for estrone removal due to its nonpolarity and low bioavailability. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a promising approach; however, pristine semiconductors need optimization for efficient estrone photodegradation. Herein, we compared Zn-Cr LDH/GCN heterostructures obtained by three different synthesis methods. The influence of the GCN content in the heterostructure on photoactivity was also tested. The morphology, structure, and electronic properties of the materials were analyzed and compared. The photocatalytic kinetic tests were conducted with 1 ppm of estrone in both UV and visible light, separately. The HLDH-G50 material, obtained by the hydrothermal route and containing 50 wt % of GCN exhibited the highest photocatalytic efficiency. After 1 h, 99.5% of the estrone was degraded in visible light. In UV light, the pollutant concentration was below the detection limit after 0.5 h. The superior effectiveness was caused by numerous factors such as high homogeneity of the formed heterostructure, lower band gap energy of hydrothermal LDH, and increased photocurrent. These characteristics led to prolonged lifetimes of charge carriers, a wider light absorption range, and uniformity of the material for predictable performance. This study highlights the importance of a proper heterostructure engineering strategy for acquiring highly effective photocatalysts designed for water purification. In particular, this work provides innovative insight into comparing different synthesis methods and their influence on materials' properties. |
