Water Disinfection Using Chitosan Microbeads With N-, C-, C-N/TiO2 By Photocatalysis Under Visible Light

Abstract

Chitosan microbeads with C-doped TiO2, N-doped TiO2 and C,N-codoped TiO2 were prepared to obtain photocatalysts with higher photocatalytic efficiency, active under visible light and easy to removed from aqueous medium. TiO2 powders were synthesized by the sol–gel method and modified using glucose and ammonium nitrate as source of C and N, respectively. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), DRUV–Vis spectra and Raman techniques, were used to characterize the modified TiO2 powders. The structural and physicochemical properties of the microbeads were analyzed by nitrogen physisorption, functional groups were identified by Fourier transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and microbeads were observed by optical microscopy. The microbeads photocatalytic efficiency under visible light was evaluated monitoring the E. coli growth-inhibition, determined by colony count analysis (CFU—colony forming units). Results showed effectiveness in all tested composites to inhibit E. coli growth in 24 h under visible light. Furthermore chitosan microbeads with C,N-codoped TiO2 showed the best performance in the degradation test being the most effective composite to achieving 99.99% of E. coli growth inhibition in less than 4 h.