Photodegradation of Rhodamine 6G Molecules Using TiO2Photocatalyst

Abstract

In this work the photodegradation of Rhodamine 6G was studied by adding different amounts of semiconductor (TiO2), as a photocatalyst, to fixed concentration of Rhodamine 6G in water and the mixture was irradiated by UV light in the range from 270 to 280 nm. The UV light has energy of 750 mJ and spot size of 4 cm 2 and the irradiation was done in different exposure times.The absorption spectra of Rhodamine 6G with different amounts of catalyst, before and after irradiation, were recorded and compared. The results showed that the efficiency of the photodegradation process was increased with increasing the amount of semiconductor (TiO2) and irradiation time. The percentage of Rhodamine 6G degradation was 16% when 100 mg of TiO2 was added and irradiated for 10 min, while 82% of Rhodamine 6G was removed when 600mg of TiO2 was added and irradiated for 30 min.This study concluded that the degradation of Rhodamine 6G is increased with increasing the amount of semiconductor (TiO2) and with increasing the irradiation time.