Novel photocatalyst based on date palm fibers for efficient dyes removal

The combination of nanotechnology and green chemistry, based on the valorization of natural resources for environmental applications becomes a top priority for scientific researchers in the last decades. Biomass with fascinating features including abundance, environmentally safe nature and low cost can be easily manipulated as an infinite source for green and advanced sorbent materials design. In this study, date palm fibers as one of the most plenty resources in Morocco was exploited to extract pure cellulosic fibers, which were combined with TiO2 nanoparticles in the form of highly porous blocks using a natural linker to be used as green photocatalyst for both cationic and anionic dyes photodegradation. Structural, morphological, thermal and textural properties of the resulting composites were determinate using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy coupled to Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM & EDX), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The effect of environmental parameters including initial dye concentration, contact time and initial pH solution on the composite sorption performances were consistently investigated. Under optimized conditions, the resulting blocks exhibited impressive adsorption capacity, greater photocatalytic efficiency for both methylene blue (MB) and congo red (CR) dyes and excellent regeneration after several cycles with easier separation.