Hydrothermal sol-gel TiO2 nanoparticles fixed to clay and its photocatalytic application for the degradation of methyl orange

Abstract

In this paper, Clay-TiO2 nanomaterials were synthesized via hydrothermal sol-gel method using Ivorian clays and titanium tetra-isopropoxide as precursors. The synthesized composite was characterized through XRD, SEM/EDX, FTIR and BET surface measurements. The photocatalytic activity of composite towards the degradation of methyl orange (MO), a model pollutant, has been investigated under UV and simulated solar radiation. Comparative experiments done in a solution with and without H2O2 indicate an increase in efficiency for methyl orange removal from the polluted water in the presence of H2O2. The optimized parameters (contact time, amount of nanocomposite and amount of Fe2+/H2O2) allowed to reach removal efficiency up to 60 % of MO. Immobilization of TiO2 on clay facilitate repeated using of nanomaterials, two times.