Semiconductor supported by palygorskite and layered double hydroxides clays to dye discoloration in solution by a photocatalytic process

Publication date: December 2019Source: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Volume 7, Issue 6Author(s): Alan Í.S. Morais, Wemerson V. Oliveira, Vaeudo V. de Oliveira, Luzia M.C. Honorio, Francisca P. Araujo, Roosevelt D.S. Bezerra, Pierre B.A. Fechine, Bartolomeu C. Viana, Marcelo B. Furtini, Edson C. Silva-Filho, Josy A. OsajimaAbstractThe present study aimed to synthesize photocatalytic materials using palygorskite (PAL) clays and a layered double hydroxide (LDH) calcined as support for titanium dioxide (TiO2) as an alternative for dye decontamination in aqueous media. The material was synthesized from the co-precipitation of LDH-Mg-Al in PAL and the TiO2 was incorporated using a sol-gel method. The materials were calcined at 400 °C for 2 h for formation of anatase phase of TiO2. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy, Specific surface area, and Photoluminescence, which proved the incorporation of TiO2 anatase in the materials, this being responsible for the photocatalytic properties. The photocatalytic activity was measured by monitoring the discoloration of the eosin yellow (EY) dye. The LDH material calcined with TiO2 (CLDHT-400) showed a discoloration rate of 99.08%. The materials made from PAL with TiO2 (PALT-400) and PAL-LDH with TiO2 (PAL-CLDH-T-400) presented discoloration rates of 75.36% and 73.19%, ...
Source: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research