Photo-catalytic degradation of methylene blue over nano titanium/nickel oxide prepared from supported Schiff base complex on titanium dioxide

Abstract

A novel nano compound TiO2/[NiL(PBu3)] (where L = (E)-1-[(2-Amino-5-nitrophenyl)iminio-methyl]naphthalene-2-olate) containing tridentate ONN Schiff bases was synthesized. The compound calcinated to Ni-doped TiO2 at 650 °C. The structure and morphology of the obtained nano particles were identified by IR, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM and EDX techniques. Based on the XRD and EDX results of the new nano materials, the Schiff base complex supported on TiO2 nano oxide. SEM and TEM micrographs of the TiO2/complex and Ni-doped TiO2 show that the resulting new materials have nano structure. The photo-catalytic activities of the samples were investigated by carrying out the photodegradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution under visible light. It was found that the Ni-doped TiO2 samples enhanced the photo-catalytic efficiency of bare TiO2 in photo-degrading the methylene blue. The reasons of this enhanced photo-catalytic activity were also discussed. Kinetic research showed that the reaction rate constant of calcined Ni-doped TiO2 is 8.10 × 10−2 min−1 which is approximately 2.45 times higher than the apparent reaction rate constant of uncalcined Ni-doped TiO2 (3.30 × 10−2 min−1). Based on the present study, it could be considered as a promising photo-catalyst for the further industrial application.