Long Afterglow Green Phosphors Functionalized with Fe-N Doped TiO2 for the Photocatalytic Removal of Emerging Contaminants

Abstract

The aim of this work was to remove oxytetracycline and atrazine using novel catalytic composites consisting of a visible light-active photocatalyst (Fe-N doped TiO₂) supported on visible excited long afterglow aluminate-based phosphors (green phosphors) emitting around 500 nm of wavelength. In the long afterglow Fe-N doped TiO₂/phosphors composites, the light energy (emitted by the lamps used in the tests) is accumulated in phosphors, and then the accumulated light energy emits visible luminescence in dark, which is used as light source for the visible light-active Fe-N doped TiO₂ photocatalysis when the external lamps are turned off.