Enhancement of Catalytic Performance of MCM-41 Synthesized with Rice Husk Silica by Addition of Titanium Dioxide for Photodegradation of Alachlor

Photocatalytic degradation of alachlor, a herbicide, in water on both bare TiO2 and TiO2 supported on mesoporous material, marked as TiO2/RH-MCM-41 were studied. The RH-MCM-41 support was synthesized from rice husk silica and other reagents by hydrothermal method. The required amount of titanium precursor (TiO2 P25 Degussa) to give 10-60% was mixed with RH-MCM-41 and calcined at 300 °C for 6 h. The catalytic activities of TiO2 and TiO2/RH-MCM-41 for alachlor degradation were performed under UV radiation with wavelength of 300 nm. The ratio of catalyst weight to volume of alachlor solution was 1 g/L and all products were characterized by high performance liquid chromatograph. The reaction equilibrium was established in 30 min. in deionized water without adjusting the solution pH. The TiO2/RH-MCM-41 could adsorb alachlor more than the bare TiO2 (namely, 17% vs. 5%) and the photocatalytic activity of alachlor degration on all TiO2/RH-MCM-41s was higher than that on the bare TiO2. By comparison per weight of TiO2, the 10%TiO2/RH-MCM-41 gave the highest alachlor conversion of 100% after 20 min. while 1% bare TiO2 showed conversion of 95%