Mesoporous pyrophyllite–titania nanocomposites: synthesis and activity in phenol photocatalytic degradation

Abstract

Pyrophyllite–TiO2nanocomposite PTi750 was successfully synthesized using a sol–gel method at ambient temperature based on exfoliation of the pyrophyllite layered clay by incorporation of the TiO2precursor titanium(IV) t-butoxide. PTi750 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity in phenol degradation compared with commercial TiO2Aeroxide P25. Ag-photodeposited PTi750 was more photoactive than PTi750, exhibiting detoxification, total degradation, and good mineralization of polluted solution and excellent stability after five reuses at optimal conditions in terms of the parameters pH, H2O2concentration, and photocatalyst amount. The nanocomposites were investigated using several techniques, viz. diffuse-reflectance ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area measurements.