Impregnation synthesis of TiO2/hydroniumjarosite composite with enhanced property in photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI)

In this paper, a series of novel TiO2/hydroniumjarosite composite photocatalysts were synthesized by deposition precipitation method. XRD, UV-vis DRS, TEM, BET, PL spectra and EIS were used to characterize the composite photocatalysts. The photocatalytic performance of the composite catalysts were examined on the Cr(VI) reduction under ultraviolet irradiation in aqueous suspension. The results show that TiO2/hydroniumjarosite composites exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity with a maximum reduction rate of 98.0%, while the Cr(VI) reduction efficiency is only 36.0% over P25 under the same conditions. The increased light absorption intensity and the decreased electron hole pair recombination rate in TiO2 with the introduction of hydroniumjarosite are responsible for better catalytic property of TiO2/hydroniumjarosite catalysts. It would be of great promise for the industrial application of this catalyst with high potocatalytic performance to reduce Cr(VI) for wastewater treatment. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.