A study on the synergistic adsorptive and photocatalytic activities of TiO2-xNx/Beta composite catalysts under visible light irradiation

A series of TiO2-xNx/Beta composite samples were prepared by coating the nitrogen-doped mania on the Beta zeolite using a simple sol-gel method Samples were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption XRD TEM UV-vis XPS and FTIR techniques The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation The synergistic effect between absorption and photocatalysis of the TiO2-xNx/Beta composite materials was found in terms of methylene blue removal efficiency under visible light irradiation since the assisting adsorption ability from H-Beta zeolite could supply a concentrated pollutant environment around mania active sites The highest photocatalytic efficiency was obtained on the 10% TiO2-xNx-coated composite sample which was probably due to the better dispersion of titania on the support Furthermore the TiO2-xNx/Beta-10% catalyst was consistent to be the most efficient composite material tested for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue even in different pH environment (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved