Date of Award

4-1-2024

Thesis Type

masters

Document Type

Thesis (Restricted Access)

Divisions

eng

Department

Department of Chemical Engineering

Institution

Universiti Malaya

Abstract

Photodegradation has been considered one of the most effective ways to remove organic dyes from wastewater. As one of the semiconductor materials, TiO2 has shown tremendous potential due to its chemical stability and good photocatalytic efficiency. The catalysts' crystalline information, morphology, and optical properties were studied using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, TEM, and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. In this research, the photocatalytic activity of five types of photocatalyst; TiO2 P25, TiO2 (001), Graphene Oxide (GO), TiO2 P25/GO, and TiO2 (001)/GO—was studied by the degradation of methylene blue, rhodamine b, crystal violet, and a mixture of the three dyes above in an aqueous medium under visible light and different contact time variations. This semiconductor/carbon composite material has excellent potential for removing organic stains and is applicable in water purification. The photocatalytic experiment showed that TiO2 (001)/GO nanocomposites performed the highest photodegradation activity. The removal rates are 95%, 92%, 94%, and 87% for the photodegradation of methylene blue, rhodamine b, crystal violet, and a mix of the three dyes, respectively. It followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The results indicated that TiO2 (001)/GO nanocomposite is a highly efficient photocatalyst for removing persistent organic pollutants in water.

Note

Dissertation (M.A.) – Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, 2024.

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