Harnessing the impact of TiO2 nanotubes, TiO2 nanofibers and their incorporation in polysulfone composite membrane for the photocatalytic degradation of reactive black 5

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of P. G. Studies in Chemistry, Alva’s College (Autonomous), Moodubidire, P. O. Box: 574 227, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India

2 Membrane and Separation Technology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Karnataka, P. O. Box: 575 025, Surathkal, Mangalore, India

Abstract

Most water resources today are contaminated for various reasons. Examples are dyes that pollute aquatic systems and threaten the environment. To overcome this problem, photocatalytic decomposition is a prominent method for eradicating hazardous dyes from water. The hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2 nanotubes and nanofibers and their subsequent utility in degrading Reactive Black (RB) 5 dye is of great interest, and the resulting nanomaterials have been characterized and validated via various techniques: ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive analysis (EDAX). Polysulfone (PSF) composite membranes lodged with synthesized nanomaterials were tested for the degradation of RB 5 dye. As a result, dye degradation of 89.8% and 80.2% was achieved with the TiO2 nanofibers and TiO2 nanotubes, respectively. When the nanomaterials were allowed to act upon the dye solution alone, the TiO2 nanofibers degraded up to 48.7%, whereas the TiO2 nanotubes degraded up to 18.6% because the strength of the nanomaterials was not enough for dye decomposition. This study reports on the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials, as well as their combination for an enhanced dye degradation process. 

Graphical Abstract

Harnessing the impact of TiO2 nanotubes, TiO2 nanofibers and their incorporation in polysulfone composite membrane for the photocatalytic degradation of reactive black 5

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Advances in Environmental Technology
Volume 12, Issue 1
January 2026
Pages 63-75

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History

  • Receive Date: 06 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 15 December 2025
  • Accept Date: 20 December 2025

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