Faculty of Humanities and Sciences-Scopus2

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Author: search.filters.author.Wijesekera, R

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Leaching of ilmenite to produce titanium based materials: a review
    (Springer International Publishing, 2021-12) Thambiliyagodage, C. J; Wijesekera, R; Bakker, M. G
    Naturally available ilmenite mineral is being used as a starting material to produce titanium based products that have wide applications. Transformation of ilmenite to diferent titanium based materials by strong and weak acid, and base digestion, is discussed. Efects of temperature, concentration of acid/base, reaction time on dissolution of ilmenite are extensively reviewed. Characterization of the starting materials, intermediates and the products by x-ray difraction, thermogravimetry, brunauer–emmett–teller surface area analysis, and scanning electron microscopy are presented. Further, advantages and disadvantages associated with the digestion methods are discussed.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Ball milling–A green and sustainable technique for the preparation of titanium based materials from ilmenite
    (Elsevier, 2022-01-01) Thambiliyagodage, C. J; Wijesekera, R
    Ilmenite is a naturally available mineral that is highly applicable in the synthesis of pure TiO2. Titania mainly presents in four polymorphs as rutile, anatase, brookite and TiO2–B. Titania could be mined from minerals such as ilmenite, leucoxene and rutile among which ilmenite is the main source. Ball milling is a mechanical activation method used before subjecting ilmenite to chemical treatment methods to produce titanium based materials. Effect of milling time, milling intensity, milling atmosphere, the introduction of reducing agents on the particle size, surface area, annealing temperature, and the crystal structure of the products are reviewed. The effect of ball milling on acid digestion of ilmenite in hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid is discussed. Further, the effect of mechanical activation on hydrothermal treatment of ilmenite is explained in detail.
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    PublicationEmbargo
    Efficient photodegradation activity of α-Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5/TiO2 and Fe2TiO5/TiO2 nanocomposites synthesized from natural ilmenite
    (Elsevier, 2021-12-01) Thambiliyagodage, C. J; Usgodaarachchi, L; Shanitha, M; Wijesekera, R; Lansakara, B; Bakker, M
    Photocatalysis is an attractive widely used environmental remediation technique. Ternary (α-Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5/TiO2) and binary (Fe2TiO5/TiO2) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by using natural ilmenite sand as the raw material. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by microscopic and spectroscopic analytical techniques. Both nanocomposites were catalytically active for the photodegradation of methylene blue upon irradiation by a light source (LED and sunlight). The visible light absorption of both composites was improved by the presence of Fe2TiO5 and α-Fe2O3 which absorb in the visible. The ternary nanocomposite with type II band alignments was more active than the binary nanocomposite with type I band alignment in the visible light exposure. Under sunlight exposure, binary nanocomposites were more active than the ternary nanocomposites. Band alignment, percentage of TiO2 in the composites and the proper formation of the structure of the composites govern the photocatalytic activity. OH● is suggested as the main species responsible for the photodegradation of methylene blue.
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    PublicationEmbargo
    Fabrication of Fe2TiO5/TiO2 binary nanocomposite from natural ilmenite and their photocatalytic activity under solar energy
    (Elsevier, 2021-01-01) Thambiliyagodage, C. J; Mirihana, S; Wijesekera, R; Madusanka, D. S; Kandanapitiye, M; Bakker, M
    Heterogeneous photocatalysis is an attractive alternative route to enhance the degradation of environmental pollutants. In this work, we have fabricated Fe2TiO5/TiO2 binary nanocomposites using natural ilmenite via bottom up approach. Synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, X-ray fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance UV–Visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These nanoparticles are in the range of 40–70 ​nm and are of type I heterostructure with a band gap of 2.02 ​eV. They are sensitive to visible light and show higher photocatalytic activity under direct solar energy. Photocatalytic activity of Fe2TiO5/TiO2 was assessed using a model textile dye, methylene blue. Over a period of 2 ​h, 76% of methylene blue was photodegraded at a rate of 0.0084 min−1 in the presence of Fe2TiO5/TiO2.