Preparation of bismuth titanate/calcium alginate composite bead and its photocatalytic degradation of dye pollutants

Abstract

In this study, the bismuth titanate/calcium alginate composite bead was synthesized by immobilizing bismuth titanate Bi4Ti3O12 particles into 1.5% sodium alginate (SA) matrix. The Bi4Ti3O12 particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The photocatalytic activity for the degradation of dye Rhodamine B in solution by as-prepared bismuth titanate/calcium alginate composite bead was investigated. The as-prepared composite beads CA/BTO-700 exhibited best photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of RhB compared with CA/BTO-800 and CA/BTO-900 under simulated solar light. After 4 cycles in photocatalytic degradation of RhB, the degradation rate of the CA/BTO-700 nearly remained unchanged.