Facile synthesis of clinoptilolite-supported Ag/TiO2 nanocomposites for visible-light degradation of xanthates

A novel ternary Ag/TiO2/clinoptilolite (ATC) nanocomposite was synthesized via a two-step synthesis strategy by combining the hydrothermal and in-situ reduction process. The obtained samples were characterized by a series of methods of XRD, SEM, TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, XPS, FTIR, and UV-vis DRS. It is revealed that Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles were tightly bonded with the clinoptilolite and well-dispersed on its surface. Xanthates were employed as the target pollutants to evaluate the photodegradation efficiency of the as-synthesized samples. Particularly, the ATC photocatalyst exhibited an improved visible-light-induced photodegradation performance towards xanthates, which was much superior to those of binary Ag/TiO2 and Ag/clinoptilolite nanocomposites. The key influencing factors were also investigated to obtain optimal degradation conditions. The excellent photocatalytic performance of the ATC nanocomposites mainly benefited from the enlarged adsorption capacity, visiblelight absorption region, and charge separation efficiency. The possible photodegradation mechanism was proposed according to the results of real-time spectral evolution, trapping experiment, and UV-vis DRS. (c) 2021 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The novel ternary Ag/TiO2/clinoptilolite (ATC) nanocomposite exhibits excellent photocatalytic performance for degrading xanthates, with enhanced adsorption capacity, visible-light absorption range, and charge separation efficiency. The possible photodegradation mechanism was proposed based on real-time spectral evolution, trapping experiment, and UV-vis DRS results.