Photoassisted mineralization of remazole red F3B over NiO/TiO2 and CdO/TiO2 nanoparticles under simulated sunlight

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this work, a series of titania-supported NiO and CdO materials were synthesized by a modified sol-gel process. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The activities of titania-supported NiO and CdO photocatalysts for photocatalytic degradation of Remazole Red F3B (RR) dye, under simulated sunlight, were investigated. The photocatalytic mineralization of an RR dye solution over various NiO-x/TiO2 and CdO-x/TiO2 photocatalysts under simulated sunlight was investigated. It was worthy noticing that the photocatalytic activity of titania improved using the prepared catalysts. The prepared TiO2, NiO-5/TiO2, and CdO-2/TiO2 photocatalysts exhibited higher photocatalytic activity under simulated sunlight than did commercial TiO2. The prepared photocatalysts were stable after photocatalytic degradation of the dye. The observed photocatalytic mineralization of the dye was 51 and 71% over NiO-10/TiO2 and CdO-2/TiO2 after 180 min of irradiation, respectively. Juxtaposing a p-NiO-5/TiO2 semiconductor provided a potential approach for decreasing charge recombination. The prepared photocatalystsNiO-5/TiO2 and CdO-2/TiO2 are promising composites for the solar detoxification of textile wastewater.