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Research Article

Synthesis and characterisation of novel catalyst Ag-TiO2 loaded on magnetic Algerian halloysite clay (Fe3O4-HKDD3) for the photocatalytic activity of methylene blue dye in an aqueous medium

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Pages 7697-7714 | Received 11 Jul 2021, Accepted 18 Aug 2021, Published online: 22 Sep 2021
 

ABSTRACT

This work aimed to synthesise a magnetic photocatalyst based on Ag-TiO2 nanoparticles supported on Algerian Halloysite clay (HKDD3) loaded with magnetite Fe3O4 through a solvothermal method. The prepared catalyst was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, UV–vis-DRS Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Structural and morphological characterisation exhibited that magnetite (Fe3O4) and (TiO2) particles were on a nanometre scale and their sizes were estimated around 50 nm and 30 nm, respectively. DRS results demonstrated that the bandgap has shifted from 3 to 1.75 eV. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated under visible light by changing different operating parameters including photocatalyst loading, initial dye concentration, pH, and scavenger’s effect. The methylene blue discoloration was 92% with mineralisation of 87%, which was achieved at pH 6.7 after 3 hours of irradiation visible light with a dosage of 0.937 g/l of catalyst. The photocatalyst can be easily separated due to the action of an external magnetic field. The O2 and OH species are the main ones responsible for the photodegradation of methylene blue dye.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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