Enhanced removal of acid orange II from aqueous solution by V and N co-doping TiO2-MWCNTs/γ-Al2O3 composite photocatalyst induced by pulsed discharge plasma

Abstract

This paper presents a study of V and N co-doping TiO2 embedding multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) supported on γ-Al2O3 pellet (V/N-TiO2-MWCNTs/γ-Al2O3) composite photocatalyst induced by pulsed discharge plasma to enhance the removal of acid orange II (AO7) from aqueous solution. The photocatalytic activity of the V/N-TiO2-MWCNTs/γ-Al2O3 composite to AO7 removal induced by the pulsed discharge plasma was evaluated. The results indicate that the V/N-TiO2-MWCNTs/γ-Al2O3 composite possesses enhanced photocatalytic activity that facilitates the removal of AO7 compared with the TiO2-MWCNTs/γ-Al2O3 and TiO2/γ-Al2O3 composites. Almost 100% of AO7 is removed after 10 min under optimal conditions. The V0.10/N0.05-TiO2-MWCNTs/γ-Al2O3 photocatalyst exhibits the best removal effect for AO7. Analysis of the removal mechanism indicates that the enhancement of the removal of AO7 resulting from V and N co-doping causes TiO2 lattice distortion and introduces a new impurity energy level, which not only reduces the band gap of TiO2 but also inhibits the recombination of the e-cb=h+vb pairs.