Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Reactive Dyes over FeTiO₃/TiO ₂ Heterojunction in the Presence of H ₂O ₂
2013
Sivakumar, Santhanam | Selvaraj, Ayyasamy | Ramasamy, Anaipalayam Kandasamy | Balasubramanian, Vadivelu
In this work, photocatalytic degradation of two reactive dyes, Reactive Yellow 84 (RY 84) and Reactive Black 5 (RB 5), on FeTiO₃/TiO₂ heterojunction in the presence of UV–visible radiation and H₂O₂ has been reported. FeTiO₃/TiO₂ heterojunction has been prepared from ilmenite FeTiO₃ and anatase TiO₂ by employing oxalic acid as an organic linker. FeTiO₃/TiO₂ ratios have been varied from 1 to 5 wt.%, and the materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and diffused reflectance UV–visible spectroscopic analysis. The photocatalytic activity of FeTiO₃/TiO₂ heterojunction for the degradation of the organic dyes RY 84 and RB 5 in the presence of UV–visible light was found to be higher than that of pure TiO₂. The addition of H₂O₂ increases the rate of degradation of both dyes on FeTiO₃/TiO₂ heterojunction. It facilitates the fast degradation of dye solutions even when their concentration was above 100 mg/l, which is otherwise very slow due to the low transmittance of light by the dye solution. The extent of mineralisation of the reactive dye during photocatalytic degradation was estimated from chemical oxygen demand analysis. FeTiO₃/TiO₂ heterojunction photocatalyst was also found to have good photostability; the material retains almost 97 % of its initial activity even in the fifth cycle.
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