Optical and Photocatalytic Studies of Tio2–Bi2o3–Cuo Supported on Natural Zeolite for Degrading Safranin-O Dye in Water and Wastewater

Abstract

A series of n–p heterojunction catalysts (TiO2–Bi2O3–CuO) were synthesized by the ceramic method. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-visible spectroscopy, and photoluminescence were used for the characterization of the synthesized materials. The optical optimization demonstrated that the solid solution TiO2–0.2Bi2O3–0.25CuO exhibited the best optical property. This catalyst supported on natural zeolite under ultrasonic waves improved notably the adsorption-photodegradation capacity of the resultant material. The impact of the n–p junction supported on zeolite on the photodegradation of a polluting solution showed excellent results for the degradation of cationic dye with removal efficiency reaching 94.1% and 80.23% under sunlight for Safranin-O dye in distilled water and in wastewater from a local textile dyeing plant.

Keywords: Heterojunction, TiO2-Bi2O3-CuO, adsorption, photocatalysis, photo degradation, Wastewater