Photocatalytic Activities of Siliceous Termite Hill‐Based Composites in Dye Degradation

Abstract

Herein, ZnO/termite hill (ZnO-TH) and TiO2/termite hill (TiO2-TH) composites were prepared, characterized by various techniques, and tested in the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under solar irradiation. Increased surface area, formation of ZnO and TiO2 on the TH surface, dominance of active surface functional groups, and reduced bandgap energy all contributed to the outstanding performance of the photocatalysts, as validated by the characterization results. The degradation of MB dye in aqueous solution followed the pseudo-first-order approximation of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. Experimental apparent rate constants revealed that TiO2-TH is 1.5 times more efficient for MB degradation than ZnO-TH.