The use of Silica Supported Nickel-Copper Oxide Catalyst for Photodegradation of Methylene Blue

Abstract

Photodegradation is a save and low cost methods to clean water bodies from some organic pollutants. The method has been developed in term of increasing the efficiency of the degradation capacity of photocatalyst. The photocatalyst working under visible light is the most desirable. The preparation of silica supported nickel-copper oxide [(Ni-Cu)Ox@SiO2] catalyst and the use of the catalyst in the photodegradation of methylene blue in the water are reported. The catalyst was prepared by impregnating the silica support into the mixture of nickel and copper salts, followed by calcination at 800○C for 4 hours. A series method of XRD, SEM-EDX, and UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance has been used to characterize the catalyst. The catalyst adsorption test was undertaken in the dark, and the catalyst activity test for photodegradation of methylene blue was conducted under the sunlight. The XRD diffractogram of as prepared (Ni-Cu)Ox@SiO2 shows a weak-wide peak at 2θ = 21.8° indicating SiO2 tridymite, and has a crystallite size of 10.38 nm. The combination method of SEM and EDX confirms the formation of (Ni-Cu)Ox@SiO2. The (Ni-Cu)Ox@SiO2 catalyst has a relatively low bandgap energy and shows a good activity for photodegradation of blue methylene under sunlight. The adsorption of the methylene blue on the (Ni-Cu)Ox@SiO2 follows the Langmuir isotherm pattern.