Photo-Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Clay Supported V2o5-Tio2 Nano-Composites

Abstract

Clay supported TiO2-V2O5 nano-composites were synthesised using microwave technique. Three different samples were prepared by varying the composition of V2O5 with respect to clay-TiO2. The synthesized nano-composite was analysed using X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Brunauer - Emmett - Teller and Transfer Electron Microscopy. Their photocatalytic activity was compared to that of clay-TiO2 and commercially available p25 by degrading methylene blue with a catalytic dose of 0.25g per litre in 20 ml (10-4 M concentration) of dye. The degradation was carried out in both UV and visible light. It was found that presence of V2O5 along with clay-TiO2 effectively enhanced the catalytic activity of clay-TiO2 and caused dye to degrade totally in both UV and visible light.