Microwave assisted preparation of TiO2/Al-pillared saponite for photocatalytic phenol photo-oxidation in aqueous solution

In present work, titania dispersed in aluminium pillared saponite was prepared by using microwave irradiation technique as a more efficient calcination procedure instead of conventional calcination by slow heating. Several instrumental techniques consist of XRD, N2 adsorption (BET), and diffuse reflectance UV–Visible spectrophotometry (DRUV–Vis) were employed to study physicochemical character of synthesized material and for photocatalytic activity evaluation, phenol photo-oxidation reaction in aqueous solution was conducted. The results of XRD showed that proposed method showed anatase formation in material whereas by BET analyses, higher specific surface area was gained compared to the conventional calcined. Prepared material demonstrates photocatalytic activity as evaluated from the kinetic study of phenol photo-oxidation.