Visible light photocatalytic activity of TiO2/MWCNTs nanocomposite prepared using modified microwave technique

A facile method for in-situ dressing of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with TiO
2
nanoparticles was achieved using modified microwave technique. TiO
2
/MWCNT nanocatalyst was formed using titanium (IV) isopropoxide as the precursor in the presence of MWCNTs and constantly irradiated for 5 min. FE-SEM micrographs suggested that TiO
2
nanoparticles were well attached on the outer sidewall of MWCNTs. XRD measurement revealed that the TiO
2
exist in anatase form with the calculated crystallite size of approximately 5 nm. XPS results show that TiO
2
contacts closely with MWCNTs via Ti-O-C bonds. The photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite was evaluated based the degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. The results showed that 1 mg of TiO
2
/MWCNTs hybrid nanocatalyst efficiently degraded the dye.