New composite material based on Kaolinite, cement, TiO₂ for efficient removal of phenol by photocatalysis

Photocatalysis is one of the most important process and was used to eliminate various organic pollutants as phenol in water. In this research study, a new composite containing Kaolinite, cement, and wood fibers modified by titanium oxide TiO₂ was elaborated in order to be used in addition of building materials, as photocatalyst for the degradation of phenol. Different kinds and amounts of TiO₂ (PC500, P90, and C-TiO₂) were immobilized by a simple method inside the composite materials based. The matrix of the hybrid materials was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption-desorption (BET), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). These investigations confirmed the dispersion of titania in the new composite materials. The FTIR result has shown that clay particles were successfully treated before their insertion in the composite, by the appearance of two peaks at 2921-2851 cm^-1. The XRD results reveal the identification of crystalline phase of TiO₂ as anatase. The photocatalytic activity of the composite materials was investigated towards degradation of phenol in aqueous solution under UV light irradiation (369 nm). It has been found that photocatalytic efficiency was significantly enhanced when TiO₂ is added. The highest photocatalytic activity has been shown by 3% P90-comp of 41.65% in comparison with 3% PC500 and 3% C-TiO₂ which are 29.88% and 22.64 %, respectively. It was shown that the experimental data of kinetic reaction are well fitted by first-order model.