Removal of 4-Nitrophenol from Water Using Ag–N–P-Tridoped TiO2 by Photocatalytic Oxidation Technique

Photocatalytic oxidation using semiconductor nanoparticles is an efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective process for the removal of organic pollutants, such as dyes, pesticides, phenols, and their derivatives in water. In the present study, nanosize Ag-N-P-tridoped titanium(IV) oxide (TiO2) was prepared by using sol-gel-synthesized Ag-doped TiO2 and soybean (Glycine max) or chickpea (Cicer arietinum) seeds as nonmetallic bioprecursors. As-synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and ultra violet (UV)-visible spectroscopic techniques. Average crystallite size of the studied photocatalysts was within 39-46 nm. Whereas doped Ag in TiO2 minimized the photogenerated electron-hole recombination, doped N and P extended its photoabsorption edge to visible region. Tridoping of Ag, N, and P in TiO2 exhibited synergetic effect toward enhancing its photocatalytic degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), separately, under UV and visible irradiations. At three hours, degradations of 4-NP over Ag-N-P-tridoped TiO2 under UV and visible radiations were 73.8 and 98.1%, respectively.