Synthesized nano titanium for Methylene Blue removal under various operational conditions

In this study, photo-catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution by using synthesized nano TiO2 prepared by sol-gel method was investigated under various operational conditions (catalyst dose, pH of the solution, initial concentration of dye and illumination time). Full characterization of the synthesized nano titanium was carried out. SEM and FTIR before and after degradation demonstrated the interaction between MB dye and TiO2. The synthesized TiO2 band gap falls in the visible light region which demonstrates the activation of TiO2 in visible light and enhances its removal efficiency. Photo-degradation efficiency of MB was strongly influenced by the operational parameters. The photo-degradation efficiency decreased with increasing the initial concentration of MB. Alkaline media is favorable for photo-catalytic degradation due to high adsorption of MB molecules into the catalyst. The photo-catalytic reactions followed pseudo-first order kinetics and the reaction rate was inversely related to the feed concentrations.