Effect of platinum to boost the methyl-paraben photodegradation in titania nanostructures

Abstract The effect of platinum on the physicochemical properties and photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 nanomaterials, obtained through a hydrothermal method, is reported. The characterization was performed by means of powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N 2 adsorption-desorption measurements at 77 K, UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. Noticeably, it is found that Pt loaded TiO 2 favours the stabilization of the anatase phase and increases the specific surface area of the nanomaterials. Furthermore, the presence of platinum on the TiO 2 surface enables platinum nanoparticles to effectively extent the lifetime of the charge carriers. Afterward, the photocatalytic performances of the samples were evaluated in the degradation of methyl-paraben (MeP) solution under UV-A light irradiation. The photodegradation rates fitted well to a pseudo first-order kinetics model. It was also found, that Pt loading significantly ameliorated the MeP photodegradation. Notably, the 0.5% Pt/TNT catalyst exhibited the best activity with 92% of MeP removal and an apparent rate of 0.019 min -1 after 120 min of UV-A light irradiation. The superior photocatalytic efficiency observed for 0.5% Pt/TNT seems to be closely related to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Pt nanoparticles, and the suppressed charge recombination, which boost the photocatalytic activity.