Surfactant-aided sol-gel synthesis of TiO₂–MgO nanocomposite and their photocatalytic azo dye degradation activity

Abstract

In this work, a surfactant-aided TiO2–MgO nanocomposite (Ti-M-S) was successfully synthesized by a sol-gel process with the aid of sodium dodecyl sulfate as a structure-directing anionic surfactant. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach for controlling both the amount and the distribution of MgO nanoparticles within the TiO2 framework after calcination. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanocomposite for degradation of methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) dyes used as a model wastewater contaminant was investigated under visible light irradiation. The synthesized nanocomposite was systematically characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX) analysis. The decolorization results revealed that the Ti-M-S1 (with an anionic surfactant: sodium dodecyl sulfate) and Ti-M-S2 (with a non-ionic surfactant: Triton X-100) nanocomposites showed much more photocatalytic activity than the pure TiO2 did under visible light. MB and MO dye removal efficiencies of 82.4% and 77.8 %, respectively, were achieved by Ti-M-S1 (1%) within about 120 min and no further changes in the uptake were observed up to 24 h. This confirmed the suitability of the synthesized nanocomposite for use as a photocatalyst under visible light with the added advantage of increasing the versatility of potential applications for TiO2 photocatalysts.

Polymer Nanocomposites for Photocatalytic Degradation and Photoinduced Utilizations of Azo-Dyes

“…Sharma et al obtained surfactant-aided TiO 2 -MgO nanocomposite (Ti-M-S) by sol-gel process with the aid of sodium dodecyl sulfate as structure-directing anionic surfactant. The Ti-M-S efficiently removed methyl orange and methylene blue under visible light irradiation [27]. Karimzadeh and Bahrami [28] used L-cysteine and cadmium sulfide (CdS) as promoted agents to develop new TiO 2based nanocomposites and successfully improved the photo-catalytic activity of TiO 2 .…”

Synthesis of TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposite by sol-gel method for photocatalytic removal of dye: potential application for dye industry

“…Many researchers have tried many different techniques via several synthesis routes. Ternary TiO2−SiO2−Ag nanocomposites was synthesized through a facile biomimetic approach by utilizing lysozyme as both inducing agent of TiO2 and reducing agent of Ag+ to enhance visible-light photocatalytic activity [14]. Sharma and Lee (2016) have found better photocatalytic activity of TiO2-MgO nanocomposite synthesized via sol-gel process, than pure TiO2 under visible light [15].…”

Advanced Surface of Fibrous Activated Carbon Immobilized with FeO/TiO2 for Photocatalytic Evolution of Hydrogen under Visible Light

“…In our previous research work, different metal oxides such as MgO, NiO, and FeO were utilized as dopants to modify the TiO 2 lattice and enhance the photocatalysis activity under a visible source of light for photocatalytic environmental remediation and conversion of waste water to methanol [10,11,16,17]. The modified lattice of TiO 2 with dopant provides potential performance for transport of charge carriers and high superficial capacity.…”