Abstract
A modified zeolite/TiO2 composite (MZTC) was prepared through a method of saturated infiltration and synthesis in situ. The crystalline phase, micromorphology, elementary composition, specific surface area, pore size distribution, chemical bond and band gap variation of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), BET specific surface area and pore size distribution analysis (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), respectively. The microscopic characterization results showed that TiO2 was homogeneously dispersed in the structure of zeolite at the nanoscale range, and a strong chemical bond was established between TiO2 and zeolite. The photocatalytic performance of MZTC was evaluated by studying the degradation rate of methylene blue (MB) dye in aqueous solution under UV-light irradiation. The results of the degradation experiment showed that the MB degradation rate of MZTC-2.5 was the highest, reaching 93.6%, which was 2.4 times higher than hydrolysis TiO2 powder (HTOP) containing the same mass of pure TiO2. The MB degradation rate of MZTC-2.5 still maintained 86.5% after five tests, suggesting the excellent recyclability of MZTC-2.5. The possible mechanism of MB degradation was also discussed.
Highlights
In recent decades, the water pollution caused by organic contaminants, such as dyes, antibiotics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phenols, is becoming a serious concern worldwide [1,2,3,4].Scientists have carried out numerous solutions to control the water pollution and several achievements have been made [5,6,7,8,9,10]
The intensity of the diffraction peaks of modified zeolite (MZ) and modified zeolite/TiO2 composite (MZTC)-2.5 are weaker than natural zeolite (NZ), because the Si in the zeolite skeleton was selectively dissolved and the chemical-bonding water was destroyed
The X-ray pattern of MZTC-2.5 is almost the same as MN and the characteristic peaks of TiO2 are not observed in the diffraction patterns of MZTC-2.5, which may contribute to the low content and small size of TiO2
Summary
The water pollution caused by organic contaminants, such as dyes, antibiotics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phenols, is becoming a serious concern worldwide [1,2,3,4]. The adsorption capacity of the catalyst towards the pollutant governs the photocatalytic decomposition efficiency, especially at low concentrations. The photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 is often limited due to its low adsorption ability as well as the low concentration of pollutants in ambient water [20,21,22]. To deal with these new challenges, it is vital to firmly immobilize TiO2 nanoparticles on the substrate and improve the adsorption of the catalyst. The level and nature of the interaction of zeolite and TiO2 determine the microstructures of the zeolite/TiO2 composite, which deeply influence the photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic efficiency of MZTC was evaluated by degrading methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution, which is a representative organic pollutant in the textile wastewater industry
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