Author(s)

Tanmay K Ghorai

Department of Chemistry, West Bengal State University, Barasat, North 24 Pgs, Kolkata-700126, India.

The photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in aqueous solution was studied using Cu-MoO₄- doped TiO₂ nanoparticles under Visible light radiation. The photocatalysts were synthesized by chemical route from TiO₂ with different concentration of CuMoO₄ (Cu_xMo_xTi_1-xO₆; where, x values ranged from 0.05 to 0.5). The prepared nanoparticles are characterized by XRD, BET surface area, TEM, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, Raman spectroscopy, XPS and EDAX spectroscopy were used to investigate the nanoparticles structure, size distribution, and qualitative elemental analysis of the composition. The Cu_xMo_xTi_1-xO₆ (x = 0.05) showed high activity for degradation of 4-CP under visible light. The surface area of the catalyst was found to be 101 m²/g. The photodegradation process was optimized by using Cu_xMo_xTi_1-xO₆ (x = 0.05) catalyst at a concentration level of 1 g/l. A maximum photocatalytic efficiency of 96.9% was reached at pH = 9 after irradiation for 3 hours. Parameters affecting the photocatalytic process such as catalyst loading, concentration of the catalyst and the dopant concentration, solution pH, and concentration of 4-CP have been investigated.

Inorganic Compounds, Chemical Synthesis, Nanostructures, Optical Properties

T. Ghorai, "Photocatalytic Degradation of 4-chlorophenol by CuMoO₄-doped TiO₂ Nanoparticles Synthesized by Chemical Route," Open Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 1 No. 2, 2011, pp. 28-36. doi: 10.4236/ojpc.2011.12005.