Photocatalytic mineralization of methylene blue from water by a heterogeneous copper-titania nanocomposite film

Copper-doped nanostructure titania film was successfully prepared using the sol-gel method. The phase structure, thermal, microstructure, and surface properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, reflectance spectroscopy (Ultraviolet Diffuse Reflectance [UV-DRS]), and thermal analysis (Thermal gravimetric differential thermogravimetry [TG-DTG]). XRD showed that titania consisted of 92% anatase and 8% rutile crystalline phases. The results obtained have shown that these systems can degrade methylene blue (MB) as a model environmental pollutant in wastewater. The degradation rate of MB in the presence of copper-doped titania at optimized conditions was higher than that for bare titania. MB is almost completely mineralized to carbon dioxide, nitrate, and sulfate ion by the photocatalytic method. The results showed that no significant fraction of copper-titania residues was released from the film in water. This investigation will give a new insight into understanding the industrial textile dye photodegradation in aquatic environment.