DEVELOPMENT OF CORE/SHELL NANOSTRUCTURED PHOTOCATALYTIC MATERIALS FOR THE DEGRADATION OF CHLOROPHENOLS PRESENT IN WATER AND WASTEWATER.

Efficient, environmentally benign and low-cost approaches for removal of organic compounds has been one of the current research interests. Finding new approaches of reducing environmental pollution is a great challenge, and as a result, several techniques for the degradation of water contaminants have been developed. Among various organic compounds, chlorophenols one of the most important group of ecotoxins, are introduced unintentionally into the environment through disinfection activities by chlorination or as an industrial by-product. These non-biodegradable organic compounds come under the group of organohalogen priority toxic chemicals enlisted on dangerous chemical substances discharged into surface waters. In recent years, extensive attention has been given to the treatment of wastewater and ground water contaminated with chlorinated organic compounds. The developments of effective and rapid methods for complete degradation of chlorophenols are of great interest. Photocatalysis is recognized as a promising alternative to the conventional methods because it opens greener pathways for the complete mineralization of environmental pollutants in the presence of light. However, charge recombination within the semiconductor nanoparticles always limits the efficiency of light energy conversion. Designing of new functional materials is a driving force for the development of advanced semiconductor materials. Among various novel structures, the core/shell nanostructures have received increasing attention because of their favorable physical and chemical properties. The present project proposal focusing on the investigation of new core/shell nanostructure photo catalytic materials for the degradation of chlorophenols present in water and wastewater that have been classified as first-degree toxic pollutant. The general objectives are: ? Synthesis of various core/shell nanostructured photocatalytic materials such as ZnO/CdS, ZnS/CdS, ZnS/In2S3, ZnO/SnS2 and ZnS/SnS2, by simple facile, hydrothermal and solvothermal methods. ? Characterization of prepared core/shell materials by different analytical techniques such as XRD, XPS, UV-DRS, FE-SEM and HR-TEM. ? Development of effective batch mode photo catalytic reactor for the degradation of chlorophenols. ? Quantification and identification of chlorophenols and intermediate products by HPLC. This project can be achieved at a relatively low cost and to establish our research activities in the area of development of core/shell photocatalytic materials for various environmental remediation purposes.