Competitive adsorption and photodegradation of Methyl orange and Rhodamine B by TiO₂ modified mesoporous carbon photo-catalyst on UV irradiation

Abstract

Nanoporous carbon photocatalyst with high surface area has been prepared and modified by TiO₂ nanoparticles. The Methyl orange (MO) and Rhodamine B (Rh.B) removal process by the titanium oxide modified mesoporous carbon (Ti-OMC), followed by photodegradation on the separated dye loaded solid were conducted in batch mode with the variables such as contact time, initial solution concentration and solution pH. The Ti-OMC was found to be more active compared to the free TiO₂ nanoparticles for dyes photodegradation. The optimal conditions for the degradation of dyes were about 100 ppm dye concentration, acidic pH, and 0.15 mg.L⁻¹ of Ti-OMC dosage.

Keywords:

• Mesoporous carbon
• titanium oxide
• surface modification
• photodegradation
• Methyl orange
• Rhodamine B

Acknowledgements

The authors thank The Research Council at the Azad University for financial support.