Multiwalled carbon nanotube/TiO2 nanocomposite as a highly active photocatalyst for photodegradation of Reactive Black 5 dye

A nanocomposite UV-visible light-responsive multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanophotocatalyst was successfully synthesized by a modified sol-gel method using titanium isopropoxide and functionalized MWCNTs as the starting precursors. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 and the nanohybrid material was investigated through the photodegradation of Reactive Black 5 dye under ultraviolet light irradiation. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that anatase phase was obtained for both the pure TiO2 and the MWCNT/TiO2 composite, while Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of MWCNTs in the composite. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that TiO2 nanoparticles with an individual diameter of about 10-20 nm were coated on the surface of the MWCNTs. The specific surface areas of the samples were found to be 80 and 181 m(2)/g for the pure TiO2 and MWCNT/TiO2, respectively. As a result, MWCNT/TiO2 showed better photocatalytic performance than pure TiO2 because the high surface area of MWCNTs enabled them to function as good electron acceptors for the retardation of electron-hole pair recombination. (C) 2014, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.