Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange using TiO2 impregnated activated carbon

Abstract

Photocatalytic active TiO2 impregnated activated carbon TiO2/AC with various ratios were prepared by sol-gel method. Methyl orange (MO) was used as target pollutant to test the activity of the catalysts under two different light sources. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The TiO2/AC catalyst was found to be more effective than prepared TiO2 for degradation of methyl orange in both light sources. The activated carbon adsorbability and TiO2 photoactivities increase the catalytic performance of the catalyst. Optimization of parameters such as light sources (ultraviolet and visible light) and amount of catalysts for the photocatalytic degradation of the target pollutant were evaluated. FESEM and XRD results suggest better TiO2 distribution, increase in particles morphologies from spherical to bulky particles and the increment in the amount of anatase when AC was increased accordingly. The bond formation was observed in the FTIR while Ti-O-C suggests a conjugation between the bulk AC and TiO2. The formation of TiO2/AC catalyst with an optimum AC ratio (TiO2-50AC) reveals great potential in complete decolorization of methyl orange. Results obtained show that activated carbon gives great impact on the activity of TiO2 especially for 50 wt.% that exhibited degradation of 99% methyl orange.