Tailored routes for home-made Bi-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Photocatalytic performances towards o-toluidine, a toxic water pollutant

[Display omitted] •An innovative sol-gel synthesis for Bi-doping.•Bi-ZnO shows high o-toluidine mineralization degree.•Photocatalytic by-products by HPLC–MS and ATR-FTIR analyses.•Novel photodegradation pathway starting from azo dimer derivatives. Herein we report the photodegradation of highly toxi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. A, Chemistry. Chemistry., 2017-01, Vol.332, p.534-545
Main Authors: Mostoni, S., Pifferi, V., Falciola, L., Meroni, D., Pargoletti, E., Davoli, E., Cappelletti, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acidity
Bismuth
Bismuth doping
Byproducts
Chemical properties
High-performance liquid chromatography
Intermediates
Irradiation
Liquid chromatography
Mineralization
Nanoparticles
o-Toluidine
Organic carbon
Photocatalysis
Photodegradation
Photodegradation mechanism
Photoremoval
Physicochemical properties
Pollutants
Powder
Salts
Sol-gel processes
Toluidine
Total organic carbon
Ultraviolet radiation
Water pollution
Zinc
Zinc oxide
Zinc oxide nanoparticles
Zinc oxides
Zinc salts
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Summary:[Display omitted] •An innovative sol-gel synthesis for Bi-doping.•Bi-ZnO shows high o-toluidine mineralization degree.•Photocatalytic by-products by HPLC–MS and ATR-FTIR analyses.•Novel photodegradation pathway starting from azo dimer derivatives. Herein we report the photodegradation of highly toxic o-toluidine in aqueous media (under UV irradiation), by using home-made bare and bismuth-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The latter powder was prepared by both a traditional impregnation method and by an innovative sol-gel synthesis, obtained using bismuth nitrate as precursor. Moreover, synthetic conditions (such as zinc salts and medium acidity) were varied in order to obtain different semiconductor nanopowders with diverse physico-chemical properties and, hence, photocatalytic performances. Both the disappearance and the mineralization of the pollutant molecule were followed by Linear Sweep Voltammetry and Total Organic Carbon techniques, respectively. Photocatalysis by-products were then identified by HPLC–MS (on eluates, after 3h and 6h) and ATR-FTIR (on used nanopowders) analyses. Thus, a new photodegradation pathway (with azo dimer derivatives in the first step) has been proposed. Bi-impregnated samples show high degree of mineralization, reducing the stability of the intermediates.
ISSN:1010-6030
1873-2666
DOI:10.1016/j.jphotochem.2016.10.003