Effect of firing temperature on self-cleaning and photocatalytic performance of clay-based bricks under visible light irradiation

In this study, the self-cleaning and photocatalytic properties of clay bricks fired under various temperatures under visible light were addressed. Within this framework, the photocatalytic performance together with adsorbance properties of clay bricks fired at 900 degrees C, 1000 degrees C, and 1100 degrees C were evaluated by means of a UV-vis spectrophotometer. It revealed from the experimental data that fired clay bricks exhibited self-cleaning properties as they were observed to be able to remove the methylene blue (MB) dye as an organic pollutant. The best performance in terms of total degradation efficiency and apparent reaction rate of MB was recorded by the clay brick fired at 900 degrees C as 90.57% and 0.3039 h(-1), respectively. Additionally, it was also confirmed that the physical properties that change with the firing temperature have a great effect on the removal of MB as well as semiconductor content within the brick