Sol-gel synthesis of TiO2 on Co3O4-coated sporopollenin exine microcapsules (SECs) and photocatalytic performance of new semiconductor heterojunction material

In this study, a new approach was developed to prepare mesoporous hybrid TiO2/Co3O4 coated on Juglans sporopollenin exine microcapsules (SECs). TiO2 was synthesized on Co3O4-coated SECs used as substrate, by sol-gel method. The obtained semiconductor/semiconductor hetero-junction hybrid materials were characterized with X-ray diffractometry (XRD), UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size distribution, specific surface area, and zeta potential measurements. Photocatalytic performances of hybrid materials were tested for Reactive Black 5 dye under both UV and visible light. Equilibrium pH of the solution containing 10 mg/L Reactive Black 5 dye and 0.1% wt/v TiO2/Co3O4 was around 4.7. After irradiation in the solar box, more than 98% of the Reactive Black 5 was photocatalytically degraded within 60 min.