Defects oriented hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2 and MnTiO2 nanoparticles as photocatalysts for wastewater treatment and antibacterial applications
Ashir Mehmood Awan, Awais Khalid, Pervaiz Ahmad, Abdulrahman I. Alharthi, Muhammad Farooq, Abdulhameed Khan, Mayeen Uddin Khandaker, Saad Aldawood, Mshari A. Alotaibi, Ahmed A. El‐Mansi, Mamdouh Eldesoqui, Amal F. Dawood, Samer H. Zyoud
Abstract
Pure and manganese-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (MnTiO 2 -NPs) were synthesized by the defect-oriented hydrothermal approach. The synthesized material was then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis). The agar well diffusion method assessed the antibacterial efficiency of TiO 2 and MnTiO 2 -NPs against E. coli and S. aureus . Zone of inhibition (ZOI) formed by pure TiO 2 was observed as 12 mm and 11.5 mm against E. coli and S. aureus , while for MnTiO 2 -NPs it was observed as 19 mm ( E. coli ) and 21 mm ( S. aureus ). The concentration of synthesized nanoparticles (10 mg/ml, and 20 mg/ml) was used for antibacterial studies. The efficacy of the pure and MnTiO 2 -NPs as an active photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye was also assessed using a UV light. It was observed that the photodegradation efficiency of 1 g of MnTiO 2 -NPs was higher than the same amount of pure TiO 2 . The results suggest that the photocatalyst concentration directly impacts the photodegradation of MB dye. The pH value was found to influence the photodegradation of MB dye at higher pH values. Based on the obtained results, MnTiO 2 -NPs were observed as a promising agent for microbial resistance and water remediation.