Abstract
In the present study combustion synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were wet impregnated with Ni, Co and Ni-Co, respectively. The photocatalytic performance of synthesized catalysts was evaluated against Malachite Green dye. The synthesized materials were characterized for crystallite size, surface morphology, elemental composition, and band-gap using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and ultra-violet diffused reflectance spectroscopy, respectively. The optimum parameters for maximum degradation were found by examining the effects of catalyst loading, initial dye concentration and light intensity. A comparative analysis of Ni-doped, Co-doped, and Ni-Co-doped TiO2 photocatalysts was conducted. The results indicate superior photocatalytic activity of Ni-Co doped TiO2 among the catalysts investigated under UV light. The degradation kinetics was studied and the underlying degradation mechanism is proposed with the help of LC-MS analysis. Furthermore, a comparative study on the degradation under solar radiation using Co-Ni/TiO2 was conducted.