Photocatalytic removal of cu (Ii) in an aquatic solution using tio2-chitosan nanocomposites

Abstract

Photocatalytic removal of Cu(II) in aquatic solutions using TiO2-chitosan nanocomposite had been studied. The photocatalytic process was carried out using a batch system in a closed reactor equipped with a UV lamp. The results show that the percentage of photocatalytic removal of Cu(II) by TiO2 – chitosan nanocomposite was higher than that of TiO2 bulk catalyzing. Under solution containing 20 mg/L of Cu(II), pH 7, three hours of contact time, and employing 20 mg TiO2chitosan nanocomposite, the Cu(II) removal was successfully done up to 94.55%. The maximum adsorption capacity was obtained under nanocomposite with the highest amount of chitosan(TiO2-chit 0.13). The highest kinetic constant was obtained with nanocomposite containing the highest amount of TiO2 (TiO2-chit 1.3). The method offers high reusability up to three times, with a percentage of more than 50% of Cu(II) removal.