An inexpensive, stable and highly efficient photocatalyst for degradation of organic dyes in water: Core-shell montmorillonite-TiO2 colloids

Core-shell montmorillonite-TiO2 colloids were prepared in a hydrothermal process and characterized with transmission electron microscope, powder X-ray diffraction analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis and UV-vis spectra. Afterwards, their photocatalytic activity was investigated under UV irradiation using methyl orange as a model contaminant. In addition, the stability of the core-shell montmorillonite-TiO2 colloids was investigated by repeatedly performing methyl orange photocatalytic degradation experiments. The results indicate the as-prepared core-shell montmorillonite-TiO2 colloids are a highly efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of organic dyes in water. And this photocatalytic activity remains almost unchanged after eight successive cycles.