Water Treatment by Photocatalysis

Treatment of wastewater containing persistent organic and inorganic pollutants, prior to disposal into the environment, has attracted substantial interest over the past decades. Phenolic and Cr (VI) contaminants are carcinogenic in nature and pose a threat to both aquatic and human life.

The generation of secondary waste, high capital cost and low performance of conventional methods made photocatalysis a considerable option. The project targets purification of wastewater by solar energy, which includes two reactions, oxidation of organic pollutants to CO₂ + H₂O and reduction of Cr (VI) to less toxic form Cr (III).

The project will focus on fabrication of low cost, non toxic and highly efficient photocatalysts and their application in wastewater treatment. The relevant reaction mechanism will also be investigated by spectroscopies and other advanced technologies, which will be fed back to the material synthesis to improve the catalytic efficiency.

Projects 

• Photocatalytic Mineralization of Chlorinated Phenols and Reduction of Cr (VI) in Wastewater
• PhD studentship is provided by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND, Nigeria), 2014
• 2013-2015: EU FP7 4G-PHOTOCAT: Nano-engineered composites for water decontamination in low-cost paintable photoreactors

Selected Publications

Shoneye, A., Sen Chang, J., Chong, M.N., Tang, J. (2021). Recent progress in photocatalytic degradation of chlorinated phenols and reduction of heavy metal ions in water by TiO₂-based catalysts. International Materials Reviews, doi:10.1080/09506608.2021.1891368

Shoneye, A., Tang, J. (2020). Highly dispersed FeOOH to enhance photocatalytic activity of TiO2 for complete mineralisation of herbicides. Applied Surface Science, 511 doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.145479