Nanodiamond-TiO2 composites for heterogeneous photocatalysis
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Pastrana Martínez, Luisa María; Morales Torres, Sergio; Carabineiro, S.A.C; Buijnsters, J.G.; Faria, J.L.; Figueiredo, J.L.; Silva, A.M.T.Editorial
Chemistry Europe
Date
2013-06-05Referencia bibliográfica
ChemPlusChem. 78 (2013) 801–807
Sponsorship
Financial support for this study was provided by projects PTDC/AAC-AMB/122312/2010 and PEst-C/EQB/LA0020/2011 financed by FEDER through COMPETE and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT). L.M.P.M. and S.M.T. acknowledge financial support from FCT grants SFRH/BPD/88964/2012 and SFRH/BPD/74239/2010, respectively. S.A.C.C. also acknowledges financial support from FCT (CIENCIA 2007 program). J.G.B. acknowledges Houcine Dhieb for technical assistance and the Executive Research Agency of the European Union for funding under the Marie Curie grant NANODIA (272448).Abstract
This is a pioneering study on the synthesis and application of composites based on micro- and nanodiamonds for the photocatalytic degradation of environmental water pollutants. Micro- and nanodiamond powders (with particle sizes of 1–3 μm and 2–10 nm, respectively) were combined with TiO2, by varying the carbon-phase content, and tested as composite photocatalysts for the degradation of diphenhydramine, which is a pharmaceutical water pollutant, under near-UV/Vis irradiation. These composites exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than the respective bare materials. In addition, composites prepared with pristine nanodiamonds were always more active than those prepared with microdiamonds of the same carbon content. A significant enhancement in the photocatalytic performance was observed on preparation of the composite with 15 wt % of nanodiamonds oxidised in air at 703 K; these oxidised nanodiamonds contained mainly carboxylic anhydrides, lactones, phenols and, to a lesser extent, carbonyl/quinone groups on their surface.