Novel Green Photocatalysts Derived from Date Syrup-based biomass/TiO2 for Photocatalytic Oxidation of Methylene Blue Dye in Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

This study reports for the first time, development of novel photocatalyst from date syrup-based biomass and TiO2 for photocatalytic oxidation of methylene blue MB dye in wastewaters. The properties of the derived photocatalysts have been studied using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The performance for photocatalytic oxidation of MB dye was investigated in batch slurry reactor. The effects of operating conditions including, contact time, photocatalyst amount, pH, initial concentration, and temperature on photocatalytic oxidation behavior were investigated. The Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model was applied to study the kinetics photocatalytic oxidation of MB dye. The results revealed that the derived photocatalysts exhibited an extremely high potential for photocatalytic oxidation of MB dye. A maximum ~88% conversion of MB dye was achieved at 50 oC and atmospheric pressure. The finding of this study may open a new avenue for not only improving the photocatalytic performance, but also for further research areas.