Application of Bi2WO6/N-TiO2 catalyst immobilized on FTO in a tray photoreactor for textile color degradation from aqueous solutions: Effects of mineral salts

Abstract

The Bi2WO6/N-TiO2 composite was synthesized hydrothermally, and characterized by using XRD, XRF, FE-SEM, EDX, FT-IR, BET, PL, and UV–VIS DRS analyses. The improvement in the catalytic activity of the prepared composite is related to lower recombination, and narrow band gap. The degradation of Acid Black 172 was examined under continuous conditions by using a tray photoreactor in which the catalyst was supported on the FTO through spin coating. The effect of independent factors such as initial pH (5–9), contaminant to photocatalyst mass ratio (10–30 mg/g), and flow rate (1.5–4.5 ml/min) on the degradation efficiency was investigated. The results indicated that at the optimum conditions of pH = 5, contaminant to photocatalyst = 10 mg/g, flow rate = 1.5 min/mL, textile color removal efficiency was 81%, and TOC removal efficiency was 75% under visible light intensity = 20 w/m2. In addition, a decrease and an increase in degradation in the presence of mineral salts and more light intensity under optimum conditions, respectively. The degradation efficiency decreased slightly after several uses which confirmed the good performance and reusability of the catalysts. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.