Transition metal oxide loaded MCM catalysts for photocatalytic

degradation of dyes

DIVYA JYOTHI^a, PARAG A DESHPANDE^b, B R VENUGOPAL^a,

SRINIVASAN CHANDRASEKARAN^a and GIRIDHAR MADRAS^b,*

^aDepartment of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India

^bDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India

e-mail: giridhar@chemeng.iisc.ernet.in

Abstract. Transition metal oxide (TiO₂, Fe2O₃, CoO) loaded MCM-41 and MCM-48 were synthesized by

a two-step surfactant-based process. Nanoporous, high surface area compounds were obtained after calcination

of the compounds. The catalysts were characterized by SEM, XRD, XPS, UV-vis and BET surface area

analysis. The catalysts showed high activity for the photocatalytic degradation of both anionic and cationic

dyes. The degradation of the dyes was described using Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetics and the associated rate

parameters were determined.

Graphical Abstract. Transition metal oxide-impregnated MCM catalysts were synthesized using a

surfactant-assisted process and tested for the photocatalytic degradation of dyes.

CoO-impregnated MCM-48 showed higher activity than that of commercial

titania catalyst.

Keywords. Mesoporous materials; characterization; photocatalytic degradation; metal oxide doping.