Enhanced degradation of dye mixtures: physicochemical and electrochemical properties of titania dispersed on clinoptilolite, synergistic influence

Abstract

Eliminating dye mixtures in the aquatic environment has been of considerable interest due to the future sustainability of the environment, hence it needs to utilize photocatalytic material with synergistic influence aimed at efficient removal of these pollutants. Titania nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed on dealuminated clinoptilolite (TiO2–DCP) was synthesized via a sol–gel route. To determine the synergistic influence of as-prepared catalysts on enhanced degradation of dye mixtures (methyl orange—MO and methylene blue—MB), the physicochemical and electrochemical properties were investigated in detail. In comparison to TiO2, the prepared TiO2–DCP photocatalyst possessed excellent photocatalytic activity on the degradation of dye mixtures (83%—MO and 94%—MB) after 180 min of ultraviolet light irradiation. The partial aggregation reduction of titania NPs, improved absorption edge for more photons generations and efficient photogenerated charge carriers separation by DCP catalyst support are crucial factors for TiO2–DCP photocatalyst, synergistic influence on dye mixture removal in this study. The catalytic activity of TiO2–DCP could be reused six reaction times for the removal of the dye mixture with a promising potential for environmental remediation.