Flash combustion synthesis using two different fuels and characterization of LiF-doped TiO2 for the photocatalytic applications
Israa Zahwa,
Mohamed Mouyane,
Ahmad Kassas,
Alexis Ngueteu Kamlo,
Cherif Moslah,
Javier Navas,
Stefano Livraghi,
Jérôme Bernard,
Jaafar El Falah,
Joumana Toufaily,
Tayssir Hamieh,
David Houivet
Affiliations
Israa Zahwa
Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), ER 4253, Université de Caen -Normandie, BP 78, 50130, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France; Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA), Faculty of Sciences, Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology (EDST), Lebanese University, Beirut 6573-14, Lebanon; Corresponding author. Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), ER 4253, Université de Caen -Normandie, BP 78, 50130, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France.
Mohamed Mouyane
Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), ER 4253, Université de Caen -Normandie, BP 78, 50130, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France
Ahmad Kassas
Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA), Faculty of Sciences, Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology (EDST), Lebanese University, Beirut 6573-14, Lebanon; International University of Beirut, School of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering, Beirut, Lebanon
Alexis Ngueteu Kamlo
Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), ER 4253, Université de Caen -Normandie, BP 78, 50130, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France; BP 47 ENS, Université Yaoundé 1, Cameroon
Cherif Moslah
Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), ER 4253, Université de Caen -Normandie, BP 78, 50130, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France
Javier Navas
Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Cádiz, E-11510, Puerto Real, (Cádiz), Spain
Stefano Livraghi
Dipartimento di Chimica and NIS, Università di Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, 10125, Torino, Italy
Jérôme Bernard
Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), ER 4253, Université de Caen -Normandie, BP 78, 50130, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France
Jaafar El Falah
Laboratoire de Catalyse et de Spectrochimie, Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Caen, Université de Caen Normandie, Caen, France
Joumana Toufaily
Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA), Faculty of Sciences, Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology (EDST), Lebanese University, Beirut 6573-14, Lebanon
Tayssir Hamieh
Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA), Faculty of Sciences, Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology (EDST), Lebanese University, Beirut 6573-14, Lebanon; Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, Netherlands
David Houivet
Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), ER 4253, Université de Caen -Normandie, BP 78, 50130, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France
The flash combustion method was used to prepare LiF-doped TiO2 photocatalysts materials using glycine or urea as a fuel with different weight percentage of LiF. The synthesized powders have been characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDX) analyzer, the specific surface area measurement was performed by BET. The crystallization and the phase transformation anatase-rutile for the powders have been verified by XRD. SEM micrographs for these powders shows the presence of nanoparticles. To investigate the optical band gap of the synthesized samples, UV–Vis spectroscopy was conducted using the diffuse reflectance mode (DRS). The O2−/F− substitution and the presence of Ti3+ centers was confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-xLiF powders were evaluated through the photocatalytic degradation of Methylene blue (MB) in water under UV–visible light exposure. The results indicated that during the flash combustion synthesis, the nature of the fuel and the percentage of the doping element led to the presence of different polymorphs of TiO2 which influences the photocatalytic efficiency attributed to the synergistic effect between the two phases (anatase and rutile). The LiF-doped TiO2 powders synthesized by flash combustion in both cases (by using glycine or urea) showed high performance in MB degradation compared to commercial TiO2 and undoped synthesized TiO2 powders, with an optimal degradation of 99 % achieved with 2 wt % LiF-doped TiO2 using glycine as a fuel and after 6 h of UV–Vis irradiation.
