Influence of electron acceptor and carrier in amorphous TiO2 upon the photocatalytic degradation of methylene orange

Amorphous-TiO 2 /Cu 2 Cl(OH) 3 (am-TiO 2 /Cu 2 Cl(OH) 3 ) composite photocatalyst was synthesized by a facile and novel spray pyrolysis method. The morphology, crystal structure, chemical composition, optical properties, and photocatalytic activity of the composite were characterized and investigated. It was noted that heating temperature played a fundamental role in determining the morphology of the composite photocatalyst as well as the crystallinity of TiO 2 . Am-TiO 2 was firmly anchored on Cu 2 Cl(OH) 3 with well dispersibility and served as the main sunlight absorber. Meanwhile, Cu 2 Cl(OH) 3 acted as not only a carrier, but also a chemical catalyst of H 2 O 2 to produce O 2 (electron acceptor). Compared with commercially available P25 specie, the composite with the addition of H 2 O 2 exhibited higher photocatalytic performances for methyl orange (MO) degradation under simulated solar light irradiation. By considering the mechanism, the excellent performance was awarded to uniform dispersion of am-TiO 2 in the unique Cu 2 Cl(OH) 3 and superfluous electron acceptor.