Enhanced Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Using S-TiO 2 Composites Pillared Clay under Visible Light

Abstract We investigated methylene blue adsorption capacity and photodegradation removal efficiency using an S-TiO2@clay composite by irradiating a commercial Tungsten halogen lamp in a reactor. The same experimental conditions were applied to clay and pristine TiO2 as a reference. Morphology surface area, chemical bonding, and optical properties of those samples were characterized by using FESEM, FTIR and UV-Vis DRS tehcniques. The S-TiO2@clay composites showed a high surface area and an even pore distribution compared to natural clays and pristine TiO2. The results indicate that the composite was successfully pillared on natural clay. These results exhibit that S-TiO2 composite pillared natural clay (S-TiO2@clay) presented better results in the methylene blue dye adsorption-photodegradation process, with an adsorption efficiency of 93.87% and degradation efficiency of 94.94%. In tests performed in the absence of natural clay, the degradation efficiency of 88.46%, while tests performed in the natural clay only obtained an adsorption efficiency of 86.41%. These results evidence that the combination methods of adsorption-photodegradation are very efficient in removing methylene blue dye.