Preparation and Photocatalytic Properties of Cu-doped Nano-TiO2/Microcrystal Muscovite Composites

With microcrystal muscovite (MCM) as the carrier, butyl titanate as the source of titanium, acetic acid as the inhibitors, copper nitrate as dopant, Cu-doped nano-TiO2/MCM composites were prepared by the sol-gel method. Then the composites were calcined at 500 degrees C for 2 hours. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and DTA-TG methods. The photocatalytic activity of samples was evaluated by degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) under ultraviolet radiation (UV lamp 20 W, emission wavelength 340 nm). The experiment showed that the Cu-doped could enhance the photocatalytic degradation performance of the samples. Especially for the presence or absence of UV radiation conditions, we also researched the effect of muscovite, nano-TiO2 and Cu-doped nano-TiO2/MCM composites in MB solution. The results showed that the photocatalytic activity of Cu-doped nano-TiO2/MCM composites have been significantly improved in MB solution. The degradation rate for MB solution (100 mL 5 mg/L) by Cu-doped nano-TiO2/MCM (0.2 g, Cu/Ti molar ratios: 5%) is about 99% under UV radiation for about 6 hours at room temperature.