Scientists developed a new material for water purification

Titanium oxide is a well-known material to purify water and air from toxic organic pollutants when illuminated with ultraviolet light. Its photocatalytic properties are largely dependent on morphology and chemical composition, but the main limitation is that you need to use ultraviolet.

Scientists of the Institute of Advanced Materials and Technologies studied the effect of high-temperature processing on the photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties of titanium oxide in visible light. They conducted an experiment in which they synthesized arrays of titanium oxide nanotubes modified with copper oxide nanoparticles and obtained a modified nanomaterial that exhibited greater photoactivity than the unmodified material in the purification process of water from organic dye.

“We proposed a mechanism for the photocatalytic decomposition of organic molecules in visible light on the surface of the nanoheterostructures, and it consisted mainly in the interaction of these organic molecules with photogenerated O2– radicals, which were present only on the modified surface of the material,” notes Timofey Savchuk, an assistant at the Institute of AMT and a participant of the project. “Our results indicate that the photocatalysts can purify water and air without ultraviolet radiation.”

Timofey Savchuk also said that the new material had maximum adhesion and c be used to remove unwanted organic substances, biological pollutants and gases, including in the purification of drinking water.