Preparation of Ti species coating hydrotalcite by chemical vapor deposition for photodegradation of azo dye

Abstract

TiO2 in anatase crystal phase is a very effective catalyst in the photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds in water. To improve its photocatalytic activity, the Ti-coating MgAl hydrotalcite (Ti–MgAl–LDH) was prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Response surface method (RSM) was employed to evaluate the effect of Ti species coating parameters on the photocatalytic activity, which was found to be affected by the furnace temperature, N2 flow rate and influx time of precursor gas. Application of RSM successfully increased the photocatalytic efficiency of the Ti–MgAl–LDH in methylene blue photodegradation under UV irradiation, leading to improved economy of the process. According to the results from X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Brunner–Emmet–Teller and Barrett–Joyner–Hallender, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra analyses, the Ti species (TiO2 or/and Ti4+) were successfully coated on the MgAl–LDH matrix. The Ti species on the surface of the Ti–MgAl–LDH lead to a higher photocatalytic performance than commercial TiO2-P25. The results suggested that CVD method provided a new approach for the industrial preparation of Ti-coating MgAl–LDH material with good photocatalytic performances.