Photocatalytic Decolorization of Acid Red 4 Azo Dye by Using Immobilized TiO2 Microparticle and Nanoparticle Catalysts

• Main Authors: Doni Sugiyana, Bambang Soenoko, Marisa Handajani, Suprihanto Notodarmojo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universitas Indonesia 2012-12-01
• Series: Makara Seri Sains
• Subjects: azo dye; decolorization; photocatalytic; TiO2; wastewater
• Online Access: http://journal.ui.ac.id/index.php/science/article/view/1475/1273

This research studied the synthesis of immobilized TiO2 microparticle and nanoparticle catalyst materials and evaluated its photocatalytic activity on the decolorization of Acid Red 4 (AR4) azo dye solution. TiO2 microparticles were immobilized on an acrylic plate, while TiO2 nanoparticles were immobilised on a glass plate. TiO2 nanoparticles were embedded in a nanofiber support layer to enhance photocatalytic performance, forming a nanofiber-nanoparticle composite on the glass plate. In the catalyst load 2.0 g/l, the performance of the photocatalytic layer of immobilized catalyst (k '= 0.013 min-1) is better than that of the suspended catalyst (k' = 0.008 min-1). Photocatalytic decolorization efficiency of TiO2 immobilized catalysts of nanoparticle sized reached 82.3% in irradiation time of 2 hours, which is higher than microparticle sized catalysts (77.8%). The technique of TiO2 nanofiber–nanoparticle composite showed improved photocatalytic kinetics (k’= 0.018 min-1) compared to a single layer of nanoparticle catalyst (k'= 0.015 min-1). Immobilized TiO2 catalysts remain effective with repeated use despite a slight decrease in processing efficiency.