Synthesis and study of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 loaded on nanosized ZSM-5

High efficiency of photocatalystic reaction has achieved by increasing the surface area of photocatalyst by supporting TiO2 particles on porous materials. Among the various supports, zeolites have attracted more interests due to their unique uniform pores and straight channels. Zeolites are crystalline microporous aluminosilicates consisting of tetrahedral units producing open framework structures, which generate a system of pores and cavities having molecular dimensions. Control of the crystal size of these support materials is crucial to monitor adequately the catalytic activity or enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 and seems to be attractive in use of TiO2 fixed materials on this benign supports for practical applications. In this work, nano-sized ZSM-5 zeolite was synthesized from precursors containing aluminum sulphate as alumina source and loaded then by TiO2 using tetra buthoxy titanium (TBT). As prepared material, nanosize ZSM-5 loaded by TiO2 was investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT- IR). Photocatalytic activity of the samples, TiO2 loaded zeolite were finally evaluated by degrading of the methyl orange under irradiation of UV light. The results showed that the nanosized ZSM-5 zeolite enhances the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 when loaded on it.