Enhanced photocatalytic activity and charge carrier separation of CNT/TiO2/WO3/CdS catalyst for the visible-light photodegradation of reactive blue 19.

Abstract

The novel quaternary CNT/TiO2/WO3/CdS nanostructure was fabricated to be employed in the photocatalytic degradation of reactive blue 19 (RB19) under the visible light irradiation. The physicochemical properties of the pure TiO2, CNT/TiO2, CNT/TiO2/WO3, and CNT/TiO2/WO3/CdS were characterized using XRD, FTIR, FESEM, EDX, DRS, PL, and BET analyses. The photodegradation results showed that the optimum weight percentage of CNT, WO3, and CdS was 4%, 35%, and 5%, respectively. The highest RB19 degradation efficiency of CNT/TiO2/WO3/CdS was achieved 97%. Besides, the central composite design was applied to model and optimize the photocatalytic activity of CNT/TiO2/WO3/CdS nanocatalyst and assess the effects of processing variables including RB19 concentration, catalyst concentration, pH, and irradiation time on the response. RB19 concentration and pH had the most and the second most significant role in the removal efficiency. While increasing the catalyst concentration and irradiation time positively enhanced the removal efficiency to more than 82%, increasing the pH and dye concentration showed the remarkable hindering effects on the removal efficiency by about 45% reduction. The reusability of the synthesized catalysts was studied under the optimum conditions as follows: [RB19] = 25mg/L, [catalyst] = 1g/L, pH of 4, and irradiation time = 2h. The COD and TOC analyses were also conducted during photodegradation process. The COD and TOC removal efficiencies were achieved about 67% and 62%, respectively.