Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue with composite nanocrystalline Tio2+ Diatomite

Abstract

In this study photocatalytic activity of the prepared nano-sized TiO2-based composite was tested by decolorisation/degradation of Methylene blue (MB) as a model pollutant under UV illumination. The composite was synthesized by a modified heterogeneous hydrolysis method in the presence of diatomite suspension by using TiCl4 as titania precursor. The photocatalyst was found to be very active for the photocatalytic decomposition of MB in aqueous solution. The percent decolorization in 60 min was 98% with initial MB concentration 53 mg/L. The photocatalytic activity was correlated with physico-chemical properties of the synthesized materials. There is a synergistic effect of grafting titanium dioxide onto the surface of diatomite: the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 dispersed on the diatomite surface vas found to be much higher than of the bulk titania mainly due to the high surface area and uniform distribution of TiO2 on clay mineral avoiding aggregation.