Photocatalysis Remediation of Organic Dyes under Sunlight

The application of photocatalysis for remediation of organic micropollutants from wastewater is an interesting object for many researchers over the last years. It is well known that titanium dioxide was the most effective photocatalyst and was widely applied in the purification of air and water. In the present study, anatase nanosize TiO2 was prepared by a simple and novel precipitation method at pH 5 and then the powders were characterized by X- ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET surface area. These nanoparticles were used for photocatalytic degradation of various dyes with different chromophores such as triphenyl methane (Methyl Violet),heteropolyaromatic dyes (methylene Blue and Rhodamine B), azoic dyes (Methyl Red and Methyl Orange) and hydroquinone dye ( Sudan Blue ) under visible light irradiation. The organic dyes with different chromophores were photodegraded on the surface of TiO2 photocatalyst under visible light irradiation by a process involving electron injection sensitization of TiO2.

Keywords:

Organic dyes remediation , photocatalyst , nanopowder , titanium dioxide , semiconductors