Enhanced performance of lanthanum orthoferrite/chitosan nanocomposites for the adsorptive photocatalytic removal of reactive black 5

• Main Authors: Marhalim, M. A. A., Mohtar, S. S., Mohammed, A. M., Aziz, F., Sokri, M. N. M., Salleh, W. N. W., Yusof, N., Jaafar, J., Ismail, A. F., Aziz, M., Naim, R.
• Format: Article
• Published: Springer 2021
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/96588/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11814-021-0835-z
• Institution: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

New lanthanum orthoferrite (LaFeO3)/chitosan nanocomposites were synthesized with different chitosan loadings (15 and 35%). Their adsorptive photocatalytic activity in the removal of Reactive Black 5 (RB5) was studied by manipulating the pH of the RB5 solution (pH 3, pH 6, pH 9), the catalyst loading (1 g L−1, 2 g L−1, and 3 g L−1), and the initial concentration of RB5 (30 mg L−1, 50 mg L−1, and 70 mg L−1) under 100 W LED light. The nanocomposites have a nanocrystalline structure similar to LaFeO3 with a lower SBET and PV but a higher PR. The LaFeO3 was distributed well on chitosan matrices with variations in the elemental composition. The band gap was gradually decreased with increased chitosan loading. The nanocomposite with 15% chitosan loading (LC15) resulted as the most prominent photocatalyst with the highest removal of RB5 up to 98.5% under experimental conditions of pH 6, 2g L−1 of catalyst loading, and 30 mg L−1 of initial RB5 concentration. The LC15 showed good stability, wherein the degradation efficiency was more than 90% after the fifth cycle with no significant change in the chemical properties. This work provides a technique to improve the removal of recalcitrant dyes through the processing of adsorptive photocatalysis utilizing adsorbent and perovskite.