Enhancement of TiP2O7@MIL-125(Ti) hybrid photocatalyst and their use in the removal of organic pollutants from the wastewaters

In this study, various amounts of titanium pyrophosphate (TiP2O7) were doped into MIL-125 and NH2-MIL-125 materials, and the photocatalytic degradation capabilities of the new composite towards methylene blue and methyl orange dyes were investigated. Titanium pyrophosphate was synthesized via a time and energy-efficient solution combustion method using carbohydrazide, hexamethylenetetramine, oxalyldihydrazide, urea, glycine, and citric acid as fuel. The sample prepared with hexamethylenetetramine exhibited superior properties morphologically and due to this result, composite synthesis was conducted using only the hexamethylenetetramine- assisted synthesized TiP2O7. Titanium pyrophosphate doping on MIL-125 enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue while no impact on methyl orange degradation was detected. 10% Titanium pyrophosphate doped MIL-125 and NH2-MIL-125 samples exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The light source effect was also evaluated by employing solar light, ultraviolet light, and visible light for both composite materials and 100% degradation was obtained under solar light. The final degradation amount obtained via TiP2O7@MIL-125 was 97,8% and 97% under visible light and ultraviolet light (UVA), respectively. 96,6% and 97,4% degradation was obtained via TiP2O7@NH2-MIL-125 material, under the same conditions, respectively. Both photocatalysts were found to be stable when used under these conditions, and there was a slight decrease in their activity after three recycles.