OP-II-3

PP-III-73PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF DYE POLLUTANTOVER Ti AND Co DOPED SBA 15: COMPARISON OF ACTIVITIESUNDER VISIBLE LIGHTSuraja P.V. 1 , Yaakob Z. 1 , Binitha N.N. 1,2 , Silija P.P. 11 Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering andBuilt Environment, National University of Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor,Malaysia, Ph: +60 (3) 8921 6400. Fax: +60 (3) 8921 6148,E-mail: binithann@yahoo.co.in, zahira@eng.ukm.my2 Department of Chemistry, Sree Neelakanta Government Sanskrit CollegePattambi, Palakkad-679306, Kerala, IndiaCobalt and titanium loaded thick-wall hexagonally ordered SBA-15 mesoporousmaterial catalysts are prepared by impregnating the metal precursor solution on thehydrothermally stable support. Their properties are compared using varioustechniques. Nature of Co and Ti over SBA is investigated using FTIR spectra andXRD analysis. XRD shows the existence Co as its spinel structure Co 3 O 4 and Ti asits anatase TiO 2 phase. FTIR shows (Fig. 1) the absorption bands of Co 3 O 4 at around667 and 565 cm –1 . UV-VIS DRS analysis gives an idea about the visible lightabsorbance of the systems. The surface area is investigated using BET method andchange in surface area after doping is a result of the insertion of the metal. Both typeof systems are found to be promising photocatalysts for pollutant degradation undervisible light. Co 3 O 4 and anatase TiO 2 is already proved photocatalysts and here SBA15 support leads easy separation of the catalysts from the cleaned solution. In thecase of cobalt loaded SBA 15, activity is found to be maximum at a cobalt loading of40% whereas 50% Ti containing SBA 15 is found to be most active among theprepared systems for the degradation of the dye pollutant methylene blue (Fig. 2).Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the UKM, the grant number UKM-OUP-NBT-27-118/2009 for the financial support.576