Rutile nanoparticles decorated onto permanently polarized hydroxyapatite for polypropylene solar photodegradation
The accumulation of microplastics (µPls) in ecosystems has become a serious environmental concern. Despite increasing awareness, the development of efficient technologies for their removal and remediation remains a major challenge. Herein, we investigate the photocatalytic degradation of polypropyle...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/456381 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/456381 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.174313 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Microplastics Polypropylene photodegradation Photocatalysts Nanocomposites Heterogeneous catalysis Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química |
| Resumo: | The accumulation of microplastics (µPls) in ecosystems has become a serious environmental concern. Despite increasing awareness, the development of efficient technologies for their removal and remediation remains a major challenge. Herein, we investigate the photocatalytic degradation of polypropylene (PP) µPls using nanocomposite catalysts composed of permanently polarized hydroxyapatite microparticles (pp-HAp) and rutile TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs). pp-HAp, a macroporous bioceramic, is known for its ability to convert gases (CO2 or/and N2) into small value-added chemical products. While pp-HAp serves both as the substrate and thermocatalytic part of the composite, TiO2 NPs are incorporated as the photocatalytic component. A series of XTiO2/pp-HAp photocatalyts, where X represents the weight percentage of TiO2 (X = 2.5, 5, 10 and 20), were prepared applying a thermal stimulated polarization treatment. The resulting materials show no formation of undesirable calcium titanate. After thorough chemical and physical characterization, the photocatalytic performance of the XTiO2/pp-HAp in the degradation of PP-µPls was evaluated. Under 1 sun irradiation, the process is selective toward ethanol, which indicates the cleavage of consecutive Csingle bondC bonds along the PP chains, with the highest yield obtained for 2.5TiO2/pp-HAp. When the irradiation intensity decreases (0.5 sun), ethanol and isopropanol are produced, suggesting a reduction in the efficiency of the Csingle bondC cleavage. In all cases, the nanocomposite catalysts exhibit significantly higher yields than TiO2 NPs or pp-HAp individually, which indicates cooperative electronic effects between both components. Regarding selectivity, in addition to the solar irradiation, the TiO2:pp-HAp ratio also determines which product is obtained. Within the framework of circular economy, our strategy yields added-value chemical products from PP waste using only sunlight and an environmentally friendly catalyst. |
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