Design and Application of Homogeneous-structured TiO2/Activated Carbon Nanocomposite for Adsorption–Photocatalytic Degradation of MO.

The sol–gel method successfully prepared homogeneous-structured TiO₂/activated carbon (TiO2/AC). This study highlights the effect of post-annealing temperature on the properties and photocatalytic activity of composite TiO₂/AC to remove methyl orange (MO). The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurement (BET), and thermogravimetric (TGA). The results confirmed that all prepared photocatalysts were TiO₂ anatase. The removal of MO was obtained through a synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalysis. TiO₂/AC-400 was the optimum photocatalyst to decompose MO up to 80% after 90 min under simulated UV irradiation. The remaining 1% AC after the annealing process at 500 °C had proved to be capable of decomposing MO mainly due to its serving as an electron trap. The potential photocatalyst formation and photocatalysis mechanism for TiO₂/AC nanocomposite to support phenomena were proposed. The finding in this study provided important implications for further research on the preparation of composite TiO₂ and carbon-based co-catalyst to enhance the adsorption–photocatalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]