Fluorine-doped TiO2/SiO2/ activated carbon ternary hybrids: enhancing adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B and methyl orange

The exploration of cost-effective, eco-friendly, and remarkably efficient photocatalysts has been regarded as a promising strategy towards the decomposition of organic dyes. In this study, a facile one-pot hydrothermal approach was utilized to successfully create a novel adsorption photocatalyst (F-TiO2/SiO2/AC) based on activated carbon. This catalyst demonstrated high efficiency in the removal of rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) from wastewater. Experimental and characterization results indicate that the introduction of F ions and SiO2 induces lattice structure modifications and alters the surface functional groups of the material, leading to enhanced adsorption capacity. Moreover, these enhancements contribute to increased efficiency in the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and mitigation of electron-hole recombination. The sample achieved a degradation rate of 92.1% in real wastewater conditions. This study not only offers valuable insights into the facile synthesis of complex activated carbon-based photocatalysts but also provides an effective strategy for rational design of electron transport pathways.