Preparation and Characterization of Diatomite Supported Cu-Doped TiO2 Photocatalysts
Diatomite supported Cu-doped TiO2 photocatalysts were synthesized by sol-gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM and UV-vis diffuses reflectance of spectroscopy (DRS). The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue solution under visible light irradiation. The results show that TiO2/diatomite ratio had a great influene on their photocatalytic activities. All prepared Cu-TiO2/diatomite had a better photocatalytic activities in comparison with Cu-TiO2 and the Cu-TiO2(30)/diatomite had higher photocatalytic activity than others. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue is due to the breaking of the chormophoric group, rather than the simple decoloration.