Enhanced photocatalytic activity of silver metallized TiO2 particles in the degradation of an azo dye methyl orange: Characterization and activity at different pH values

The photocatalytic activity of silver deposited Degussa P25 titanium dioxide (Ag-DP25) in the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) was investigated. The photocatalysts were characterized using PXRD, SEM, EDX, FTIR and UV–vis spectrophotometer. The obtained results show that the silver (Ag0) deposited TiO2 exhibited visible light plasmon absorption band. The degradation experiment reveals that the catalytic property of Ag-DP25 in the degradation of MO is more efficient than that of commercially available Degussa P25 TiO2 (DP25) samples. The improvement of Ag-DP25 catalyst efficiency strongly depends on the content of silver (Ag) deposits. The present study shows that the degradation process is dominated by Ag–TiO2 photocatalytic system, complying with pseudo-first order rate law. The higher rate of photodegradation observed on Ag-DP25 at pH 6.6 can be correlated to the ratios of the concentrations of the ionized to the neutral dye molecules and also to the higher concentration of hydroxylated surface, which are able to effectively scavenge photogenerated valence band holes. Accumulation of the holes in the semiconductor particles increases the probability of formation of excited oxygen atom which is a reactive species readily oxidizing the organic dye molecule. The reduction of pH during the course of the reaction is attributed to the complete mineralization of the dye.