A New Natural Layered Clay Mineral Applicable to Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production and/or Degradation of Dye Pollutant

In this work, preparation and characterization of Hangjin2# clay (HC) photocatalyst, a new type of low cost natural metal-oxide based on clay mineral from Inner Mongolia of China, was presented. The photocatalytic activity of HC was evaluated through the photocatalytic water splitting and the photodegradation of wastewater pollutants in aqueous suspension. The effects of CH3OH, Na2S-Na2SO3, and triethanolamine (TEOA) on the effectiveness of photocatalytic water splitting were investigated, respectively, which indicated that HC in all sacrificial reagents system had better hydrogen production ability than P25-TiO2. An enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) in the presence of HC was detected. Moreover, photocatalytic activity and catalyst stability were maintained after consecutive recycling cycles in water splitting and degradation of wastewater, respectively. The relationship between the photocatalytic properties, the structure, and the morphology of the HC was discussed. Results indicated that the light-induced photocatalytic activity of HC was mainly attributed to the synergies between hierarchical structure and the distribution of foreign metal atoms in its crystal lattice. (C) 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers