TiO2-montmorillonite composite (TiO2-M) was prepared by impregnation with TiCl4 followed by calcination at 350°C. The synthesized material was characterized by FTIR, TG-TDA, BET, XRD and SEM-EDX. The results show that TiO2 was efficiently formed in Na-montmorillonite (Na-M) framework, and only a crystalline, pure anatase phase was produced. Photoactivity tests were carried out under UV-A irradiation using five selected organic dyes. The results indicate that the activity of TiO2-M is more important for cationic dyes, where the removal rates are in the order: Crystal violet (97.1%) > Methylene blue (93.20%) > Rhodamine B (79.8 %) > Methyl orange (36.1 %) > Congo red (22.6 %). The results of the TiO2-M activity were compared with that of the commercial P25. The comparison demonstrates that the synthesized TiO2-M exhibits a higher adsorptive behavior and can be used as low-cost alternative to the commercial TiO2 for wastewater treatment, showing also an extreme easiness to completely recover the composite catalyst at the end of the test.

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