Enhanced visible light photocatalysis by TiO-BN enabled electrospinning of nanofibers for pharmaceutical degradation and wastewater treatment.

Boron nitride (BN) nanosheets are promising support materials for catalysts. A series of TiO-BN enabled electrospun nanofibers were synthesized for the photocatalytic treatment of ibuprofen and secondary wastewater effluent under visible light. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the existence of B-O-Ti bonds between the BN nanosheets and TiO nanofibers, resulting in energy rearrangement, narrowed band gaps, and enhanced light utilization efficiency of the TiO-BN nanocomposites in the visible light spectrum.

Adsorption and photocatalytic oxidation of ibuprofen using nanocomposites of TiO nanofibers combined with BN nanosheets: Degradation products and mechanisms.

This study investigated the adsorption and photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide (TiO)-boron nitride (BN) nanocomposites for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern in water using ibuprofen as a model compound. TiO nanofibers wrapped by BN nanosheets were synthesized by electrospinning method. Characterization of the nanocomposite photocatalysts indicated that the BN nanosheets improved the light absorbance and reduced the recombination of the photoexcited charge carriers (e and h).

Recent Progress on Titanium Dioxide Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Applications.

Environmental and energy problems have drawn much attention owing to rapid population growth and accelerated economic development. For instance, photocatalysis, "a green technology", plays an important role in solar-energy conversion owing to its potential to solve energy and environmental problems. Recently, many efforts have been devoted to improving visible-light photocatalytic activity by using titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst as a result of its wide range of applications in the energy and environment fields.