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7666477 
Journal Article 
High-Capacity and Photoregenerable Composite Material for Efficient Adsorption and Degradation of Phenanthrene in Water 
Liu, W; Cai, Z; Zhao, X; Wang, T; Li, F; Zhao, D; , 
2016 
1 
Environmental Science & Technology
ISSN: 0013-936X
EISSN: 1520-5851 
AMER CHEMICAL SOC 
WASHINGTON 
50 
20 
11174-11183 
English 
27626301 
WOS:000385907200046 
We report a novel composite material, referred to as activated charcoal supported titanate nanotubes (TNTs@AC), for highly efficient adsorption and photodegradation of a representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), phenanthrene. TNTs@AC was prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method, and is composed of an activated charcoal core and a shell of carbon-coated titanate nanotubes. TNTs@AC offered a maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of 12.1 mg/g for phenanthrene (a model PAH), which is ∼11 times higher than the parent activated charcoal. Phenanthrene was rapidly concentrated onto TNTs@AC, and subsequently completely photodegraded under UV light within 2 h. The photoregenerated TNTs@AC can then be reused for another adsorption-photodegradation cycle without significant capacity or activity loss. TNTs@AC performed well over a wide range of pH, ionic strength, and dissolved organic matter. Mechanistically, the enhanced adsorption capacity is attributed to the formation of carbon-coated ink-bottle pores of the titanate nanotubes, which are conducive to capillary condensation; in addition, the modified microcarbon facilitates transfer of excited electrons, thereby inhibiting recombination of the electron-hole pairs, resulting in high photocatalytic activity. The combined high adsorption capacity, photocatalytic activity, and regenerability/reusability merit TNTs@AC a very attractive material for concentrating and degrading a host of micropollutants in the environment.