Effect of Thiophene-Hydrazinyl-Thiazole derivative as an efficient dye sensitizer and performance enhancer of TiO2 toward Rhodamine B photodegradation

Mahmoud Adel Hamza; Alaa Zidan; Shaimaa A Abd El-Rahman; Abeer M El-Naggar; Zeinab M Abou-Gamra

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143325

Effect of Thiophene-Hydrazinyl-Thiazole derivative as an efficient dye sensitizer and performance enhancer of TiO₂ toward Rhodamine B photodegradation

Chemosphere. 2024 Sep 12:143325. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143325. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mahmoud Adel Hamza¹, Alaa Zidan², Shaimaa A Abd El-Rahman², Abeer M El-Naggar², Zeinab M Abou-Gamra²

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain-Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, 11566, Egypt; Department of Chemistry, School of Physics, Chemistry & Earth Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia. Electronic address: Mahmoud_adel@sci.asu.edu.eg.
² Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain-Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, 11566, Egypt.

PMID: 39277041
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143325

Abstract

Visible-light-driven photocatalysis is an eco-friendly technology for wastewater treatment, where TiO₂-based photocatalysts displayed outstanding performance in this regard. Dye sensitization is a promising approach for overcoming the common drawbacks of TiO₂ via improving its photocatalytic performance and extending its activity to visible light. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of the Thiophene-Hydrazinyl-Thiazole (THT) derivative as a novel organic dye sensitizer to be employed as a visible-light antenna for TiO₂ nanoparticles. The physicochemical characteristics of the as-synthesized TiO₂-based nanoparticles are examined by different techniques, which revealed the successful fabrication of the proposed THT-TiO₂ heterojunction. The incorporation of THT molecules on the TiO₂ surface led to slight disorders and deformation in the crystal lattice of TiO₂, a remarkable improvement of its absorption in the visible light as a perfect visible-light antenna in the whole visible region, and significant enhancement in the charge transfer. Rhodamine B (RhB) is used as an organic dye model to assess the photocatalytic efficiency of the as-fabricated THT-TiO₂ photocatalyst which achieved almost complete degradation (>95% in 150 min) with an observed rate constant (k_obs) of 0.0164 min^-1; total organic carbon (TOC) measurements suggest ∼75% mineralization. THT-TiO₂ achieved 2.1-fold enhancement in photodegradation% and 4.1-fold enhancement in k_obs compared to the bare TiO₂. THT showed good activity under visible-light irradiation (RhB degradation% was >66% in 150 min and k_obs=0.0085 min^-1). The influence of the initial pH of the solution was investigated and pH 4 was the optimum pH value for suitable interaction between RhB and the surface of THT-TiO₂. Radical quenching experiments were conducted to assess the crucial reactive species where the ^∙OH and were the most reactive species. THT-TiO₂ showed promising stability over three successive cycles. Finally, the improvement mechanism of the photocatalytic activity of THT-TiO₂ was attributed to the electron injection from the excited THT (the dye sensitizer) to TiO₂ and enhanced charge separation.

Keywords: Hydrazinyl-Thiazole derivative; Organic dye photosensitizer; Rhodamine B Photodegradation; TiO(2) nanoparticles; Wastewater Treatment.