Synthesis of TiO₂/Fly Ash Cenospheres by Sol-Gel Method and Their Photacatalytic Activities Under Visible Light

Fly ash is a solid waste discharged from thermal power plant. Specific surface area of floating fly ash cenospheres (FACs) would increase after it was modified. The photocatalytic composite of TiO2/FACs was successfully synthesized by sol-gel method using the carrier of modified FACs and tetrabutyl titanate as starting materials. The different influence factors on the photocatalytic performance of TiO2/FACs composites were characterized through SEM, EDS, XRD, UV-vis DRS and BET surface measurements. The UV-vis DRS spectra revealed that the absorption edge of TiO2 is 387 nm while that of TiO2/FACs photocatalysts red-shifts to 500 nm. Photocatalytic activity of TiO2/FACs was evaluated by the photocatalytic depigmentation of methyl orange solution (MO, 20 mg L-1, pH = 6.3) under visible light irradiation. It was found that the specific surface area, surface roughness and activity of FACs were increased by NaOH solution activation. The degradation rate of MO reaches 52% in 180 min under the visible light illumination. But too much FACs could decrease its photocatalytic activity and degradation rate. And the recovery test indicated that TiO2/FACs photocatalyst was rather stable, easy to recover from the treated wastewater.