Photocatalytic Degradation of Indigo Carmine Dye Using Hydrothermally Synthesized Anatase TiO2 Nanotubes under Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diode Irradiation

Abstract

Anatase TiO2 nanotubes (ATNT) was synthesised by hydrothermal method using anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (AT) as precursor and calcined at two different temperatures (250 & 450 °C) for 2 h. The AT and synthesized ATNT photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption measurements, UV-vis diffuse reflectance and Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy techniques for their structural, textural and electronic properties. The photocatalytic degradation of Indigo carmine (IC) dye aqueous solution has carried out using ATNT-250 and ATNT-450 photocatalysts under UVLED irradiation. The kinetic analysis has also revealed that the degradation of IC dye solution follows first order kinetic model. The overall study demonstrates the appropriate band gap of the photocatalysts used and the suitable irradiation source which could accelerate the rate of photocatalytic degradation. The band gap of the synthesised ATNT is not much affected due to the change in morphology from nanoparticle to nanotube. The results demonstrated that the irradiation of UV-LED could be utilised for the degradation of organic dyes