Additive Manufactured Carbon/TiO 2 Nanocomposites for Organic Pollutant Treatment

This study is aimed to provide an alternative wastewater treatment system with the use of Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP). Current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are expensive, not environmentally friendly, produce sludges and require chemical usage. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are widely studied as an excellent photocatalyst in the remediation of wastewater as they are efficient, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. However, the direct use of TiO2 in an aqueous system is non-practical as it is difficult to trace once dispersed. The proposed nanocomposite was synthesised via 3D printing with the incorporation of TiO2 nanoparticles. TiO2 and carbon-doped TiO2 were synthesised via hydrothermal reaction. From the characterisations, X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed the formation of anatase TiO2 in both samples and the presence of dopant was shown in Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) mapping. The band gap of TiO2 and C-doped TiO2 were estimated from Tauc plot, reduced from 3.34eV to 2.52eV when the dopant was added. Different parameters, namely dopant concentration, catalyst concentration and pH, were optimized for the treatment of pond water. Photocatalysis of MB dye indicated that 0.8C-TiO2, 20mg photocatalyst and pH 11 displayed the highest performance if compared with other ranges. The printed nanocomposite exhibited 73% COD reduction of pond water along with antimicrobial performance. The nanocomposite also displayed good inhibition against bacteria from pond. The developed 3D nanocomposite has the potential to be applied in wastewater treatment systems.