Nano TiO2 Assisted Degradation of Textile Dyes in H2O2 Aqueous Solution: Kinetic Studies with pH and Mass Effects

Abstract

In order to exploit the efficiency of the photocatalyst TiO2, nano crystallites were prepared by a combination of hydrothermal and sol gel method. XRD, SEM, UV- visible spectroscopy measurements were used for characterization. The catalytic efficiency of the nano crystalline TiO2 was investigated under visible light irradiation for the oxidative degradation of four different intensely coloured dyes containing H2O2 in aqueous medium. Also these dyes act as potential aqueous pollutants. Reactive yellow 1(RY), acid blue ffs(BFA), methyl orange(MO) and acid green 3GM(AG) are the dyes studied. The catalytic coefficient (φ) measured on comparison with the rate constant values in the absence of catalyst were found to be predominantly high for the nano TiO2 catalyst with the values: 14.7, 33.1, 11.6 and 11.5 respectively for AG, MO, BFA and RY systems. Such photo catalytic degradations have much significance in organic pollutants and colourants, bleaching processes.