TiO2–ZnO functionalized low-cost ceramic membranes from coal fly ash for the removal of tetracycline from water under visible light

IF 5.5 3区材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Nanoscale Research Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-03 DOI:10.1186/s11671-024-04178-3

Lawrence Sawunyama, Opeyemi A. Oyewo, Seshibe S. Makgato, Mokgadi F. Bopape, Damian C. Onwudiwe

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Abstract

Hybrid wastewater treatment systems offer viable solutions to enhance the removal of complicated contaminants from aqueous system. This innovation has opened new avenues for advanced wastewater treatment processes. Herein, a novel TiO₂–ZnO functionalized coal fly ash-based ceramic membrane was fabricated by utilizing a combined pressing and sintering method. The intrinsic properties of the functionalized membranes were characterized and their chemical and physical properties such as chemical stability, mechanical stability, water absorption, and porosity were established. The shape, crystallinity, thermal characteristics, and functional groups present were also determined using SEM, XRD, TGA, and FTIR studies, respectively. The results showed that the ceramic membrane functionalized with 0.5 g of TiO₂–ZnO and sintered at 850 °C exhibited the best thermal, and chemical stability, and possessed the required porosity for ultrafiltration applications. Photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC) as a model pollutant was examined and the optimum efficiency of 77% was achieved within 100 min of visible irradiation using the functionalized membrane. Moreso, the functionalized membrane was found to be stable with 73% degradation efficiency after 5 consecutive cycles of reusability study, showing negligible loss of efficiency. The scale-up of photocatalytic ceramic membranes and their utilization in real industrial applications will confirm their robustness.

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来源期刊

Nanoscale Research Letters 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

11.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

110

审稿时长

48 days

期刊介绍： Nanoscale Research Letters (NRL) provides an interdisciplinary forum for communication of scientific and technological advances in the creation and use of objects at the nanometer scale. NRL is the first nanotechnology journal from a major publisher to be published with Open Access.