Detailed Study on Rapid Removal of Cationic Dyes Using TiO2-Poly(3-Chloro-2-Hydroxypropyl Methacrylate) Nanocomposite

This study focused on TiO2-poly(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) (TiO2-PCHPMA) for rapid removal of cationic dyes from aqueous solutions by adsorption and degradation. TiO2-PCHPMA adsorbed cationic dyes, basic red 2 (BR2), basic red 5 (BR5), basic blue 17 (BB17), and methylene blue (MB), quantitatively in a wide range of pH from 5 to 10. The adsorption proceeded very rapidly, and reached equilibrium in a few seconds. TiO2-PCHPMA selectively separated cationic MB from a mixture with anionic methyl orange by the selective adsorption ability. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2-PCHPMA under UV irradiation was higher than that of bare TiO2. The excellent removal efficiency of TiO2-PCHPMA either by adsorption or degradation is advantageous in applications for treatment of industrial effluents by the selective separation by adsorption and degradation under UV irradiation. (C) The Author(s) 2019. Published by ECS.