Ceramic-Based 3D Printed Supports for Photocatalytic Treatment of Wastewater

Abstract

3D printing technology has become a powerful tool to produce 3D structures in any type of materials. In this work, 3D printing technology is used to produce 3D porous structures in CaSO 4 which can be later activated with an appropriate photocatalyst. TiO 2 was selected as an ideal photocatalyst producing activated 3D structures which can be used to study their effectiveness in the degradation of pollutants in wastewater. Methylene blue was used as a model molecule in these studies. The photocatalytic studies showed that TiO 2 -activated 3D structures using nanoparticles of SiO 2 in the process produce more than 50% of conversion of methylene blue in just 1 h of irradiation and almost 90% in 5 h.