Modification of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 by β-Cyclodextrin in decoloration of ethyl violet dye.

The photocatalytic decoloration of an organic dye, ethyl violet (EV), has been studied in the presence of TiO2 and the addition of β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) with TiO2 (TiO2-β-CD) under UV-A light irradiation. The different operating parameters like initial concentration of dye, illumination time, pH and amount of catalyst used have also been investigated. The photocatalytic decoloration efficiency is more in the TiO2-β-CD/UV-A light system than TiO2/UV-A light system. The mineralization of EV has been confirmed by Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) measurements. The complexation patterns have been confirmed with UV-Visible and FT-IR spectral data and the interaction between TiO2 and β-CD have been characterized by powder XRD analysis and UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.