A newly green photocatalyst support for azo dye remediation under UV light irradiation

Abstract

A new cellulosic material “corn silk” was modified with titanium dioxide nanoparticles as a novel photocatalyst support. In this study, the prepared support was tested for the removal of Reactive Black 5 (RB5) as an azo dye pollutant candidate from synthetic samples. High capability of decolorization (> 99%) was achieved after 30 s using the corn silk/TiO2 photo-biocatalyst. The effect of important parameters such as pH of the medium, the amount of photocatalyst, mixing rate and dye concentration was investigated and modified. UV–Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier-transform IR spectrometry were applied to characterize the effect of functionalization, structure, surface morphology and photocatalyst properties of the support and mineralization of pollutants. It was observed that the maximum decolorization of RB5 occurred at pH 3.0, 25 °C, 300 rpm, 30 s using the corn silk/TiO2 composite material for this study. The results reveal that corn silk/TiO2 composite has high and significant photocatalytic activity.