Synthesis of mesoporous Pt/TiO2 nanoparticles by incipient wetness route for photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B and methyl orange dyes under UV and sun light radiations

Abstract

The destruction of organic pollutants on the surface of the effective photocatalyst synthesized through simple strategy is required for various industrial and environmental purposes. In this research, we proposed an incipient wetness route for deposition of Pt on titania of 65 m2/g surface area and 14 nm particle size. The photocatalytic efficiency of the as-synthesized solid specimens was tested for mitigation of rhodamine B and methyl orange dyes as cationic and anionic pollutant models. Developed techniques as XRD, SEM, TEM, BET and EDX elaborate the physicochemical characters of the solid specimens. Pt nanoparticles with a low concentration of 0.25 wt% is effective for destruction of both dyes under UV and visible light radiations. All the charge carriers and the reactive radicals exert nearly the same influence on dye degradation on the surface of pristine titania. On the other hand, super oxide radicals and electron conduction band as reactive oxygen species play a major role over TiPt0.25 nanoparticles. Conclusively, it can be emphasized that Pt/TiO2 nanoparticles with low Pt concentration have positive impact on future development of photocatalysis for mitigation of various organic pollutants.