SYNERGISTIC EFFECT OF ADSORPTION-PHOTODEGRADATION OF COMPOSITE TiO2/AC FOR DEGRADATION OF 1-BUTYL-3-METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM CHLORIDE

Abstract

Most ionic liquids (ILs) were reported to be highly toxic and non-biodegradable such as ILs with imidazolium type cation. To overcome this problem, degradation of imidazolium based ILs via advance oxidation process is needed. In this research, photocatalytic study was employed in order to study the efficiency of the system for removal of ILs from wastewater. To introduce synergistic effect of adsorption-photodegradation, composite photocatalyst TiO2/AC was synthesized using two steps (1) nano-TiO2 was synthesized using microemulsion method and (2) it deposited onto functionalize (AC) activated carbon using impregnation method. The prepared composite photocatalyst was characterized using Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopic (FESEM). Photocatalytic study of 1-butyl-3methylimidazolium chloride (bmimCl) was employed under visible light region. Increasing amount of AC as support increased the degradation rate of bmimCl. However, excess AC reduced the removal rate of bmimCl. Composite TiO2/AC with 10 wt.% AC as support shows highest degradation rate with total removal 18.47%. Composite photocatalyst may enhance the diffusion rate between bmimCl and TiO2 surface which increase the efficiency for overall systems.