Synthesis of Cu-TiO2 Nanocomposite and Investigation of the Effectiveness of PEG, Pectin, and CMC as Additives

Recently, TiO2 has been widely used as a photocatalyst for degradation of environmental pollutants. In the present study, the advantage of metal doping onto TiO2 for enhanced photocatalitic activity has been investigated. Copper-Titanium dioxide nanocomposites were prepared by the sol-gel method in the presence of Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (CMC), Pectin, and Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG) as additives. The structures and properties of prepared samples were identified by IR spectra, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) methods. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity under UV-irradiation to remove organic pollutant was investigated. The results have revealed that the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite in presence of additives increased. SEM pictures have shown that the particle size of Cu-TiO2 powder with additives was smaller than other samples without any additive.