Preparation of Pd-doped nano-TiO₂ in microemulsion and their application in photodegradation of C.I. Acid Yellow 23

Abstract

In this paper, the application of palladium-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles (Pd/TiO₂) in photocatalytic degradation of the C.I. Acid Yellow 23 (AY23) dye as a water pollutant under UV light illumination and their synthesis via microemulsion method is reported. The prepared catalysts were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, XRD, and energy-dispersive X-ray techniques. The effect of parameters such as Pd loading, photocatalyst dosage, initial dye concentration, and calcinations temperature on the photocatalytic activity of the catalysts was investigated. The optimum conditions leading to the highest photonic efficiency were found to be using of 0.75 wt% of Pd loading on TiO₂, photocatalyst dosage of 600 mg L⁻¹, and calcination temperature of 300°C for initial dye concentration of 0.05 mM. A complete decolorization of 0.05 mM AY23 dye solution under UV irradiation at optimum conditions on Pd/TiO₂ was observed in 30 min.

Keywords:

• Acid Yellow 23
• Heterogeneous photocatalysis
• Pd-doped TiO₂
• Microemulsion
• UV/TiO₂

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the support of Iranian Nanotechnology Society, University of Tabriz and the Islamic Azad University—Tabriz branch.