The Study on the Decomposition of Azo Dye by La-Modified TiO<sub>2</sub>

Abstract

The La/TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by lanthanum into TiO2 structure in a sol-gel process. The catalyst was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), ESCA, and Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) analyses. Photocatalytic activities of the supported catalysts were examined through decomposition process of azo-dye Acid Yellow 17 solution under UV irradiation. The results showed that the particle size of TiO2 is about 20 nm, and the particle of La/TiO2 is about 10 nm. The crystal structure is mainly in anatase phase, the contents of the rutile phase increase with the increase of the amount of doped lanthanum. The adsorption capacity of La/TiO2 catalysts increases with lanthanum dosage in the acidic solution. The contribution of actual photodecomposition was determined by desorption process, after the photocatalytic reaction. In the acidic solution, better photodecomposition efficiency is achieved than in the neutral or alkaline solution. The experiments demonstrated that the optimum doping of La at 10 mol %, the maximum photodecomposition in dye concertration at 15 mg L-1 and photocatalytic dosage at 0.75 g L-1, achieving the highest effect.