The fabrication of TiO(2)-supported clinoptilolite via F(−) contained hydrothermal etching and a resultant highly energetic {001} facet for the enhancement of its photocatalytic activity

TiO(2)-supported clinoptilolite (TiO(2)/CP) was synthesized in the presence of F(−) ions. Various characterizations demonstrated that the particle size of loaded TiO(2) increased linearly with an increase in the temperature and concentration of F(−) ions. In particular, the additive F(−) ions were favored to produce the mutually independent co-exposed {001} and {101} facets of loaded TiO(2), while TiO(2)/CPs synthesized in the absence of F(−) ions were dominated by the thermodynamically stable {101} facet. As photocatalysts for the removal of crystal violet or methyl orange dyes under UV-irradiation in aqueous solutions, TiO(2)/CPs (ACP6) synthesized in the presence of F(−) ions significantly improved the degradation efficiency, as compared to ACP3 obtained in the absence of F(−) ions. These results elucidated that the highly energetic {001} exposed facet, large particle size and fine dispersion of loaded TiO(2) in TiO(2)/CP accounts for its best photocatalytic performance. The effected mechanism of operational parameters on the degradation performances is proposed.