Hydrothermal Sol-gel TiO2 Nanoparticles fixed to Clay and its Photocatalytic Application for the Degradation of Methyl Orange

In this paper, Clay-TiO 2 nanomaterials were synthesized via hydrothermal sol-gel method using Ivorian clays and titanium tetra-isopropoxide as precursors. The synthesized composite was characterized through XRD, SEM/EDX, FTIR and BET surface measurements. The photocatalytic activity of composite towards the degradation of methyl orange (MO), a model pollutant, has been investigated under UV and simulated solar radiation. Comparative experiments done in a solution with and without H 2 O 2 indicate an increase in efficiency for methyl orange removal from the polluted water in the presence of H 2 O 2 . The optimized parameters (contact time, amount of nanocomposite and amount of Fe 2+ /H 2 O 2 ) allowed to reach removal efficiency up to 60 % of MO. Immobilization of TiO 2 on clay facilitate repeated using of nanomaterials, two time.