ABSTRACT FOR ICOSEM

Bentonite have been proven effective for removal of organic pollutants from water. This
property is due to their large surface area that has the ability to undergo cationic exchange with charged
organic molecules. TiO2 on the other hand is a photocatalysts used to degrade organic molecules
through the production of an electron hole and a negative charge which in turn produces radicals.
Photocatalysis is a surface phenomenon which means that the study aimed to utilize this property of
bentonite and combine it with the photocatalytic ability of TiO 2 to degrade the adsorbed organic
pollutants.

Nano-sized titanium dioxide was synthesized by sol-gel method from titanium

tetraisopropoxide. This was then incorporated in the bentonite using hydrothermal synthesis in an
autoclave. In order to shift the absorbance of the TiO 2 to the visible region doping was done using Iron
and nitrogen as dopants. The hydrodynamic radius of the synthesized TiO 2 was analyzed using a zeta-
sizer and was found to be around 70 nm. The photocatalytic efficiency of the TiO 2/bentonite, N-
TiO2/bentonite, Fe-TiO2/bentonite and N-Fe-TiO2/bentonite was compared using a photocatalytic
reactor. It was found out that the N-Fe-TiO2/bentonite to be the most efficient. The adsorption capacity
of the bentonite as well as the adsorption time was also measured. SEM-EDS analysis was also done.