Adsorption and Photocatalytic Mineralization of Bromophenol Blue Dye with TiO<sub>2</sub> Modified with Clinoptilolite/Activated Carbon

This study presents a hybridized photocatalyst with adsorbate as a promising nanocomposite for photoremediation of wastewater. Photocatalytic degradation of bromophenol blue (BPB) in aqueous solution under UV-irradiation of wavelength 400 nm was carried out with TiO<sub>2</sub> doped wit...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh, Sudesh Rathilal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-12-01
Series:Catalysts
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/11/1/7
Description
Summary:This study presents a hybridized photocatalyst with adsorbate as a promising nanocomposite for photoremediation of wastewater. Photocatalytic degradation of bromophenol blue (BPB) in aqueous solution under UV-irradiation of wavelength 400 nm was carried out with TiO<sub>2</sub> doped with activated carbon (A) and clinoptilolite (Z) via the co-precipitation technique. The physiochemical properties of the nanocomposite (A–TiO<sub>2</sub> and Z–TiO<sub>2</sub>) and TiO<sub>2</sub> were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Results of the nanocomposite (A–TiO<sub>2</sub> and Z–TiO<sub>2</sub>) efficiency was compared to that with the TiO<sub>2</sub>, which demonstrated their adsorption and synergistic effect for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color from the wastewater. At an optimal load of 4 g, the photocatalytic degradation activity (Z–TiO<sub>2</sub> > A–TiO<sub>2</sub> > TiO<sub>2</sub>) was found favorably by the second-order kinetic model. Consequently, the Langmuir adsorption isotherms favored the nanocomposites (Z–TiO<sub>2</sub> > A–TiO<sub>2</sub>), whereas that of the TiO<sub>2</sub> fitted very well on the Freundlich isotherm approach. Z–TiO<sub>2</sub> evidently exhibited a high photocatalytic efficacy of decomposition over 80% of BPB (COD) at reaction rate constant (k) and coefficient of determination (R<sup>2</sup>) values of 5.63 × 10<sup>−4</sup> min<sup>−1</sup> and 0.989, respectively.
ISSN:2073-4344