Acid-etched coal fly ash/TiO2 nanocomposites with high photocatalytic degradation efficiency: a high value-added application of coal fly ash

Coal fly ash (CFA), as a kind of aluminosilicate-rich solid wastes that was generated by the combustion of coal, was used as support to load TiO2 nanoparticles to improve the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of textile dye with the advantage of low cost. In this article, a novel acid-etched coal fly ash/TiO2 nanocomposites photocatalyst was prepared by HCl etching followed by sol-gel method. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and UV-vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) techniques. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency were evaluated by using methyl orange as model. Compared with the CFA (no HCl etching)/TiO2 nanocomposites, the prepared CFA/TiO2 nanocomposites had much better photodegradation efficiency. The preparation and application of CFA/TiO2 nanocomposites will promote the high value-added application of CFA greatly. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

In this study, a novel acid-etched coal fly ash/TiO2 nanocomposite photocatalyst was prepared by HCl etching and sol-gel method. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized and compared with traditional CFA/TiO2 nanocomposites, showing higher photocatalytic degradation efficiency. The results suggest that the preparation and application of CFA/TiO2 nanocomposites have great potential.