Preparation and photocatalytic properties of ilmenite NiTiO₃ powders for degradation of humic acid in water

The powders of ilmenite structure NiTiO₃ were prepared by a modified Pechini process using tetrabutyl titanate and nickel acetate as raw materials, and using citric acid and ethanol as a chelating agent and a solvent respectively. The powder samples were characterized by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The photocatalytic activity of NiTiO₃ under the irradiation of ultraviolet rays (UV) light was evaluated by degrading humic acid (HA) in water as a probe reaction. The possible photodegradation mechanism was studied by the examination of active species ·OH, ·O₂^-, and holes (h⁺) through adding scavengers. The TG-DTA and XRD results indicated that the good crystal structure of ilmenite phase NiTiO₃ could be obtained when the Ni-Ti citrate complex was calcined at 600℃. The photocatalytic activity experiments indicated that NiTiO₃ had favourable photocatalytic activity under the irradiation of UV light, and the photocatalytic degradation rate of HA reached 95.3% after a 2.5 h reaction with the photocatalyst calcined at 600℃ and a photocatalyst dosage of 0.4 g/L. The possible photocatalytic mechanism was deduced that holes (h⁺) and ·OH radicals are the major reactive active species in the photocatalytic reaction, and dissolved oxygen plays a weak role in the degradation of HA.