γCDFunctionalized TiO2 Nanoparticles For the Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes

In this work, an efficient photocatalyst based on gammacyclodextrinmodified titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2/γCD NPs) was synthesized and used for photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB). The results of FESEM, EDX, TEM, FTIR, XRD and BET surface area measurement showed that the TiO2 NPs were effectively modified with γCD. The photocatalytic properties of the TiO2/γCD NPs were evaluated by the degradation of some organic dyes in aqueous solution under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination. The experimental results confirmed that the TiO2/γCD had exhibited efficient photocatalytic activities higher than that of the pure TiO2 in the degradation of investigated dyes. The γCD could increase the lifetime of the excited states of the unreactive guests and facilitate electron transfer from the excited dye to TiO2 conduction band. The results indicated that the firstorder kinetic model well describes the degradation of the dyes by TiO2/γCD NPs. the photocatalytic reaction rate constants for RhB, MO and MB dyes in the presence of TiO2/γCD NPs were 4, 5.6 and 4.2 times higher than that of pure TiO2, respectively. In addition, the TiO2/γCD NPs can be used for several times in real application as an effective photocatalyst.