Photocatalytic activity of novely obtained biobased mandarin peels/TiO2 particles toward textile dye

Enormous usage of synthetic dyes in several industrial branches could pose detrimental effects on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The aim of this work was to examine photocatalytic properties of novely obtained biobased TiO2 (Ac-bTiO2) particles. Namely, photocatalyst was synthesized by cross-linking between aqueous extract of mandarin peels (eMP) and titanium alkoxide, under controlled reaction conditions. Preliminary structural properties of nanooxide particles were investigated by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X Ray Diffraction (XRD) and UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS). Photocatalytic activity was determined under imitated sunlight conditions, measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy. As a model pollutant, aqueous solution of methyl orange (MeOr) was used. Complete decolorization was observed after 60 min, while the degradation kinetics follows pseudo-first order (R2 > 0.98). Photodegradation studies performed in batch system proved that obtained photocatalyst could represent an improved choice for purifying water contaminated by different organics. Satisfying degradation rate of utilized photocatalyst demonstrated possibility for consecutive, multicycle usage under operative conditions.