Comparison of the Phase Transition and Degradation of Methylene Blue of TiO(2), TiO(2)/Montmorillonite Mixture and TiO(2)/Montmorillonite Composite

Nano-TiO(2) (T), TiO(2)/montmorillonite mixture (Mix), and TiO(2)/montmorillonite composite (Com) were prepared by using TiOSO(4)•2H(2)O as the precursor of TiO(2) and montmorillonite as the matrix. The phase transition process of TiO(2) and the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in T, Mix, and Com were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectrum (IR), scanning electron microscopy with energy spectrum (SEM-EDS), and other methods. The results show that, except for the fact that the heating temperature has a great influence on the phase transition and grain growth of TiO(2), the introduction of montmorillonite has an obvious inhibition effect on the phase transition and grain growth of TiO(2), and the inhibition effect of the Com is obviously stronger than Mix. In Com, Ti–O–Si chemical bond was formed between TiO(2) and oxygen atoms with negative charge on the bottom of the structure layer of montmorillonite, which is the main reason for inhibition effect. However, in Mix, TiO(2) only covers the surface of montmorillonite without breaking the degree of order of montmorillonite and forming no chemical bond with montmorillonite, so the inhibition effect is small. From degradation of MB, it was found that before the structure of montmorillonite was destroyed (400–600°C), the total degradation percentage in Mix (85.3–99.5%) was higher than T and Com. At high temperature (above 700°C), because of the inhibition effect, the total degradation percentage of MB in Com is much larger than T and Mix, even above 1,100°C, the total degradation percentage can still reach at 47%. Therefore, in industrial applications, Mix and Com can be selected to degradation MB, according to the actual application temperature range.