Resumen
The present work focuses on the removal of dyes from polluted water, and, more precisely, the targets are crystal violet (CV) and methylene blue (MB). For this purpose, a series of Zr-modified catalysts based on microporous Engelhard Titanium Silicate 10 (ETS-10) were developed and synthesized. Aiming at improvement in the photodegradation efficiency and stability of ETS-10, Zr centers replacing part of Ti ones were introduced during the synthesis procedure. The obtained Na-K-ETS-10/xZr catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF), N2 physisorption and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The photocatalytic properties of Na-K-ETS-10/xZr- (x = 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt% Zr) catalysts were studied in terms of water purification from crystal violet and methylene blue. The Na-K-ETS-10/xZr wt% x = 6 catalyst appeared to be the most efficient in the photodegradation of CV and MB, removing nearly 100% of the dyes. Kinetic studies showed that the removal of CV and MB is a rapid process and one, which obeys the non-linear pseudo-second-order model.