Photocatalytic degradation of azo dye Acid Red 114 in water with TiO2 supported on clinoptilolite as a catalyst Original Research Article

In this investigation photocatalytic degradation of azo dye Acid Red 114 in water was studied. Titanium (IV) oxide was supported on clinoptilolite (CP) (Iranian natural zeolite) using solid-state dispersion (SSD) method. The results show that the TiO2/clinoptilolite (SSD) are an active photocatalyst. The maximum effect of photodegradation was observed at 10 wt.% TiO2, 90 wt% clinoptilolite. A first order reaction with K = 0.0127 min−1 was observed for the photocatalytic degradation reaction. The effects of some parameters such as pH, amount of photocatalyst, and initial concentration of dye were also examined. Based on the results, a model was proposed for photodegradation of dyes using immobilized [TiO2/clinoptilolite (SSD)]. This model can be useful for the development of this technology for wastewater treatment applications.