Visible light driven multifunctional photocatalysis in TeO2-based semiconductor glass ceramics

Photocatalytic xCaCu(3)Ti(4)O(12) - (100 - x)TeO2 (x = 0.25 mol% to 3 mol%), glass nanocomposites were fabricated and investigated for wastewater treatment, self-cleaning surfaces, and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Visible light active crystals of Cu-doped TiO2 and TiTe3O8 were grown by optimized crystallization of as-quenched glasses. The visible light photocatalytic activity of glass samples was investigated for estrogenic pharmaceutical pollutants, and the degradation rate was obtained as 168.56 min(-1) m(-2). A higher photocatalytic H-2 production rate was observed (135 mu mole h(-1) g(-1)) for the crystallized CaCu3Ti4O12-TeO2 (x = 3.0) glass plate under visible light. The self-cleaning performance was observed using contact angle measurements for water under dark and light conditions. These visible light active glass ceramics are a cost effective sustainable solution for water treatment and self-cleaning applications. (C) 2017 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)