Visible Light-Induced Decolorization of Malachite Green over BP-TiO2 Photocatalyst

Abstract Porous materials are often added to TiO2 photocatalysts for their superior surface area and reaction rate. Separation and recovery of spent photocatalysts is a challenge for treating industrial dye wastewater with photocatalysts to prevent environmental contamination. The objective of this research was to create a TiO2/BP composite using sol-gel technique, with the purpose of improving its effectiveness in treating wastewater containing MG dye and facilitating its separation. The synthesized TiO2/BP composite was characterized using field emission transmission electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS UV–vis), photoluminescence spectra (PL), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area and porosity analysis. Subsequently, the TiO2/BP composite that was synthesized was tested for photoactivity and compared to bare TiO2 particles. The outcomes indicated that the TiO2/BP photocatalyst had a significant boost in photocatalytic activity for decolorizing MG dye and was 3 times faster than the bare TiO2 under visible light. The results from the recyclability test showed that it maintained consistent performance for up to 4 cycles. This showed that the porous material-based photocatalytic composite has a potential application in wastewater treatment and is expected to have a broad application in wastewater treatment.