Modification of cellulose with TiO₂ nanoparticles: Potential solar driven photocatalyst and adsorbent

In-situ modification of cellulose fibers with titania nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) (TiO₂ NPs-cellulose) was carried out via the sol-gel process using titania sol and fibers of cellulose. Cellulose fibers were extracted from wheat straw, an agricultural waste material, whereas titania sol was prepared from titanium(IV) acetoximate, [Ti{ONC(CH₃)₂}₄]. The synthesized TiO₂ NPs-cellulose composite was characterized by FT-IR, SEM-EDX, and XRD analyses. The obtained results exposed that TiO₂ NPs were homogeneously dispersed over the surface of cellulose fibers. A study was conducted to compare the photocatalytic activities of TiO₂ NPs-cellulose composite and TiO₂ NPs towards the degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange dyes under sunlight, and it was observed that the photo-degradation of methylene blue (99.99%) and methyl orange (80.73%) within 160 min is higher in the presence of TiO₂ NPs-cellulose composite than TiO₂ NPs. The adsorption capabilities of TiO₂ NPs-cellulose composite towards Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Cr³⁺ toxic metal ions were also examined, and it was found 44.73 mg. g^-1 (89.46%), 38.82 mg. g^-1 (77.65%), and 4.42 mg. g^-1 (8.85%), respectively. Removal of pollutants from textile industrial effluent were also investigated using TiO₂ NPs-cellulose composite under sun light. The results obtained were very promising which shows potential of TiO₂ NPs-cellulose composite as an efficient photocatalyst and absorbent for real time applications.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40201-023-00884-9.