{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T04:39:44Z","timestamp":1791434384727,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,2]],"date-time":"2022-12-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1669939200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recent studies on the removal of pollutants via adsorption include the use of carbon-based adsorbents, due to their high porosity and large surface area; however, such materials lack photoactive properties. This study evaluates the synergistic effect of integrated mesoporous carbon xerogel (derived from resorcinol formaldehyde) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) for combined adsorption and photodegradation application. The complex formed between carbon xerogel and TiO2 phase was investigated through FTIR, proving the presence of a Ti-O\u2013C chemical linkage. The physicochemical properties of the synthesised adsorbent\u2013photocatalyst were probed using FESEM, BET analysis and UV\u2013Vis analysis. The kinetics, equilibrium adsorption, effect of pH, and effect of adsorbent dosage were investigated. The expansion of the absorbance range to the visible range was verified, and the corresponding band gap evaluated. These properties enabled a visible light response when the system was exposed to visible light post adsorption. Hence, an assistive adsorption\u2013photodegradation phenomenon was successfully executed. The adsorption performance exhibited 85% dye degradation which improved to 99% following photodegradation. Further experiments showed the reduction of microorganisms under visible light, where no microbial colonies were observed after treatment, indicating the potential application of these composite materials.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27238483","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,5]],"date-time":"2022-12-05T07:07:31Z","timestamp":1670224051000},"page":"8483","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["Integrated Adsorption\u2013Photodegradation of Organic Pollutants by Carbon Xerogel\/Titania Composites"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6291-8082","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anam","family":"Safri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3915-8887","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashleigh Jane","family":"Fletcher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ramsha","family":"Safri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Surgery, The Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hifza","family":"Rasheed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124394","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biortech.2020.124394","article-title":"Emerging nano-structured innovative materials as adsorbents in wastewater treatment","volume":"320","author":"Manikandan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Bioresour. 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