Preparation, characterization and evaluation of catalytic activity of titania modified with silver and bentonite

The aim of this study is to evaluate phenol degradation capability of silver modified titanium dioxide nanomaterial on bentonite support (Ag-TiO2/Bent). The material was synthesized as photocatalyst by adding Ag-TiO2 sol into bentonite suspension. The experimental results revealed that photooxidation activity of Ag-TiO2/Bent was greatly higher than that of Ag-TiO2 and TiO2/Bent. The phenol removal efficiency was 23.25%, 35.41% and 98.94% for Ag-TiO2, TiO2/Bent and Ag-TiO2/Bent, respectively. The dispersion of silver modified TiO2 on bentonite support significantly enhances photocatalytic activity under solar radiation due to surface plasmon resonance formation and prevention of anatase-to-rutile phase transformation.