Photocatalytic Degradation of Citric Acid in Wastewater in Presence of Visible Light by La:Ni:TiO<sub>2</sub> Nanocomposite

Abstract

In this study, nanocomposites of La:Ni:TiO 2 nanocomposite was prepared by the co-precipitation method. The material was found in the nano dimension by the SEM and TEM analysis. The rutile and anatase both phases were present in XRD analysis of the synthesized materials. The particle size was found 24 and 82 nm in the case of La:Ni:TiO 2 nanocomposite and pure Titania respectively. The surface area of Titania and La:Ni:TiO 2 nanocomposite were found 6.4 and 43.2 m 2 /g. The band gap energy of Titania and La:Ni:TiO 2 nanocomposite were found 3.2 eV and 3.0 eV respectively. The photodegradation of Citric Acid was investigated at different parameters such as temperature, concentration, pH of the reaction mixture, the dose of photocatalyst and time of illumination of visible light. The photodegradation of Citric Acid occurs 60-90% in presence of La:Ni:TiO 2 nanocomposite, while in presence of titania 10-18%. It is found that photodegradation of Citric Acid follows the first order kinetics.