NaY Zeolite and TiO2 Impregnated NaY Zeolite for the Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue under Sunlight

NaY zeolite was impregnated by TiO2 to prepare a novel catalyst for the adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). The samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, and FT-IR techniques. The percentage adsorption of MB on NaY reaches 88% and an adsorption capacity of 6.55 mg/g under optimized parameters ([MB] = 10 mg/L,  pH = 6, S/L = 2 mg/L, and T = 25°C). The MB adsorption process follows Langmuir isotherm. The thermodynamic parameters were investigated and showed an endothermic and physical process. The MB adsorption also follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic. The photo-degradation of the MB dye was successfully carried out on the TiO2/NaY catalyst under sunlight. The MB photo-degradation also follows a Langmuir-Hinshelwood first-order kinetic.