Fixation of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Glass Fiber Cloths for Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes

Abstract

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles were fixed on a glass fiber cloth using zeolite synthesis. This led to the formation of a photocatalytic zeolite cloth (PZC). Cloth samples were characterized by various diffraction and scanning electron microscopic techniques. The evoked results showed that zeolite X was synthesized on the PZC, while titanium dioxide was included within the PZC. Additional PZC analyses indicated that the fiber cross-section had three-layered structures. The outer layer (third layer) contained zeolite X. It was found that most of the titanium dioxide nanoparticles were present between the second (amorphous) and third layers (zeolite) but only a few existed in the zeolite layer. The photocatalytic activity of PZC was evaluated based on the degradation of methylene blue in the presence of ultraviolet irradiation. Findings showed that PZC exhibited increased adsorption and degradation activities compared to the glass fiber cloth on which only titanium dioxide nanoparticles were coated.