Preparation of AgCl/TNTs nanocomposites for organic dyes and inorganic heavy metal removal.

In this study, TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) and AgCl-modified TNTs nanocomposites with multiple crystal phases were synthesized through a hydrothermal method without calcination. The resultant samples had a large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area. Additionally, the Ag modification process reduced the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs in the synthesized sample and possessed more oxygen vacancy sites. The surface area of the AgCl-modified TNTs was smaller than that of non-modified TNTs sample; however, the nanocomposites exhibited outstanding photocatalytic performance and adsorption properties. AgCl compounds present on the TNTs surface effectively interacted with Hg0, improving the dye photodegradation efficiency. The Hg0 removal efficiencies of the TNTs and AgCl-modified TNTs samples were about 63% and 86%, respectively. The crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG) removal efficiencies of the AgCl-modified TNTs sample were around 57% and 72%, respectively. Both dyes photodecomposition efficiencies for AgCl-modified TNTs sample are higher than those of TNTs sample. The oxygen vacancy on the AgCl-modified TNTs surface was determined to be advantageous for OH- and arsenate adsorption through ligand exchange. The maximum adsorption quantity of As5+ calculated by Langmuir equation was 15.38 mg g-1 (TNTs) and 21.10 mg g-1 (AgCl-modified TNTs).