Titania containing natural clay doped with carbon nanotubes for enhanced natural photocatalytic discoloration of wastewater

Water contamination with dyes is harmful to humans and the environment. This study investigated the photocatalytic activity of natural clay (GOL) mixed with carbon nanotubes (CNT) for removal of brilliant black (BB) in wastewater. The materials were characterized with FESEM-EDS, XRD, XRF, FTIR and UV-vis DRS. The natural clay contains 2.34 % TiO2 which is 75% more than most natural clays. SEM showed that CNT were well dispersed and mixed with clay. DRS spectra showed two absorption bands above 380 nm. CNT in GOL has decreased significantly the energy band gaps from 2.75 and 3.25 eV to 1.53 and 2.90 eV for GOL and 10% CNT–GOL, respectively. Photocatalytic activity was enhanced with degradation of BB increased from 66 to 95% with GOL and 10% CNT–GOL respectively after 45 min of visible light irradiation. The improvement can be attributed to the synergy of the interface heterojunction of clay and CNT. The presence of CNT reduces the e− and h+ (e− / h+) pairs recombination and facilitates the production of reactive oxygen species responsible for the decay of dye. The addition of H2O2 to the experiment (2 mmoL) confirmed the role of holes and hydroxyl radicals. Eighty-five percent of BB carbon content was removed with 10% CNT–GOL suggesting that mineralization occurred. After 45 min of visible light irradiation, the degradation kinetic studies followed a second-order reaction with a R2 = 0.997. Therefore, natural clay–CNT nanocomposites can be applied to treat dyes containing wastewaters.