Preparation, characterization of co-Ni co-doped titania photocatalyst and its application for the photocatalytic degradation of textile and PPCPs industrial wastewater under sunlight

Abstract

The undoped TiO2 (T), 1% Ni-doped TiO2 (N1T), and 1% Co–1% Ni co-doped TiO2 (C1N1T) photocatalysts were prepared by the sol–gel technique. The characterization of prepared materials was carried out by X-ray diffraction, Diffused Reflectance Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller and Thermogravimetric Analysis to analyze composition, phase, morphology, and optical properties. These results revealed that C1N1T exhibited higher surface area, better pore volume and enhanced optical properties as compared to undoped and Ni-doped TiO2. Furthermore, the photoactivity of C1N1T nanoparticles was manifested toward Acetaminophen, Phenol and reactive dyes i.e., Remazol Black B and Yellow 2 G. Moreover, C1N1T nanoparticles showed remarkable degradation efficiency of 53%, 56%, 98% and 89% for Acetaminophen, Phenol and anionic dyes, i.e. Remazol Black B and Yellow 2 G under optimized conditions (pollutant concentration = 20 ppm; time = 120 min; C1N1T loading = 20 mg; irradiation source = solar light; pH = 4 for each dye, pH = 7 for phenol and pH = 9 for acetaminophen). The significant degradation values suggested that the C1N1T photocatalyst can be effectively employed to degrade the textile dyes and PPCPs from industrial wastewater.