| Improvement of the photonic efficiency of TiO2 by cobalt doping and decorating on MWCNTs for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol |
| Paper ID : 1187-UFGNSM-FULL |
| Authors: |
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Pejman Monazzam *1, Azadeh Ebrahimian Pirbazari2, Ziba Khodaee3 14th Unit - Rouja Building - 21th Alley- Shahid Raja'ee St - Rasht - Gilan - Iran 2Assistant professor, Fouman Faculty of Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran 3Assistant Professor, University of Applied Science and Technology, P.O.Box 41635-3697, Guilan, Iran |
| Abstract: |
| Research into water purification using advanced oxidation methods is expanding steadily. Photocatalytic processes, particularly using a special photocatalytic semiconductor are effective methods for degradation of toxic compounds into non-toxic products. However, the photocatalytic processes with TiO2 catalysts are effective under UV irradiation, due to its high band gap energy (3.2 eV), restricting the use of TiO2 in practical applications since UV region falls within 5% of total solar light spectrum. This problem can be reduced by doping TiO2 with foreign elements of appropriate concentrations. In this work we focused on synthesis of cobalt doped TiO2 nanoparticles and decorated on MWCNTs (Co-TiO2/MWCNTs) by facile sol-gel method and studied its performance for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) as a model of organic pollutant. We also synthesized pure TiO2, Co-TiO2 and MWCNTs/TiO2 for comparison studies of 2,4-DCP degradation under visible light. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDX), elemental mapping and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) techniques. XRD data showed that the prepared samples including of anatase and rutile phases. The presence of Cobalt, Ti, O and C was confirmed by EDX in the synthesized samples. The SEM micrographs of Co-TiO2/MWCNTs sample showed the decoration of MWCNTs by Co-TiO2 nanoparticles and elemental mapping micrograph revealed homogeneous distribution of Ti, Co, C, O atoms. Higher photonic efficiency for Co-TiO2/MWCNTs is discussed in terms of the interactions of Co with MWCNTs at two different lattice positions in TiO2 and the synergistic effect created by higher visible light absorption and the improved charge separation. We obtained 45% degradation of 2,4-DCP(100ml, 2,4-DCP, 40ppm, 0.01gr catalyst) in the presence of Co-TiO2/MWCNTs after 180 mins irradiation under visible light. We obtained 30% degradation of 2,4-DCP in the presence of pure TiO2 at the same condition. |
| Keywords: |
| Cobalt, MWCNTs, TiO2 nanoparticles, Photocatalytic Activity, 2,4-dichlorophenol |
| Status : Paper Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
