In 2017, the United Nations reported that 80% of the world’s wastewater is released into the environment untreated. These toxic and hazardous pollutants can be removed from the environment by photocatalytic degradation of pollutants into nontoxic forms via light absorption. Engelhard Titanosilicate (ETS-10) is a common zeo-type material containing well-defined semiconductor monoatomic … Ti-O-Ti-O-Ti… chains, with a bandgap energy of 4.03 eV, making ETS-10 a promising candidate for photocatalytic applications under ultraviolet light irradiation. In order to overcome the broad bandgap of ETS-10 for use in visible light photocatalysis, modification using silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) has been explored for its surface plasmon resonance (SPR) abilities that extend the photocatalytic ability to visible light. Modifying with Ag leaves exposed NPs on the surface of the photocatalyst, which reacts with the surrounding medium during photocatalysis, resulting in Ag dislodging from ETS-10. The Ag modified ETS-10 core-shell heterostructure, Ag@ETS-10, was synthesized in order to protect the Ag nanoparticles while allowing the photocatalytic enhancement. Titanosilicate ETS-10 was synthesized via hydrothermal synthesis from an optimized system with a molar composition of 5.2 Na2O: 0.5 K2O: 1.0 TiO2: 5.5 SiO2: 113 H2O at pH 10.6-10.7 for 2-4 days at 503K. Ag-modified-ETS-10 crystals were prepared via photodeposition, photoreduction, and chemical reduction techniques for surface modification with Ag NPs of various sizes. The results found during these experiments will be discussed. The core-shell heterostructure was synthesized via secondary growth to form a layer of ETS-10 over the Ag-ETS-10. Photocatalysis experiments with methylene blue are currently underway to test the effectiveness and reusability of the heterostructure system.

Enhancement of the visible light activity of Ag modified ETS-10 plasmonic heterostructured photocatalyst

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.