Novel photosensitive La@TiO2 nanocomposite: A breakthrough in visible-light photocatalysis for oil field water treatment

Abstract

A novel visible-light-driven La@TiO2 composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity was successfully developed via a hydrothermal synthesis method. The La@TiO2 photocatalyst exhibited exceptional adsorption and photocatalytic degradation capabilities. Langmuir and Bangham's models accurately described the adsorption phenomena observed during pollutant removal. The composite achieved significant removal efficiencies of 70.08 % for NH3–N and 55.11 % for COD. UV–vis spectroscopy analysis indicates a band gap energy of 2.48 eV, lower than that of pure TiO2 thereby facilitating improved photocatalytic performance under visible light. Furthermore, the La@TiO2 composite demonstrated robust regeneration across three successive testing cycles, highlighting its potential for sustainable wastewater treatment applications.

Keywords

• La doping TiO2
• Visible-light photocatalysis
• Photocatalytic degradation
• Ammonia/COD
• Oil field water