Photocatalytic reduction of azo dyes Naphthol Blue Black and Disperse Blue 79

• Published in: Research on chemical intermediates Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 219 - 231
• Main Authors: Nasr, C., Vinodgopal, K., Hotchandani, S., Chattopadhyay, A. K., Kamat, P. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Nature B.V 01-01-1997
• Subjects: Absorption spectroscopy; Azo dyes; Charge transfer; Colloids; Diffusion rate; Dispersion; Electrons; Naphthol; Quantum efficiency; Rate constants; Reduction; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 0922-6168; 1568-5675
• DOI: 10.1163/156856797X00439

Photocatalytic reduction of two textile azo dyes, Naphthol Blue Black (NBB) and Disperse Blue 79 (DB79) has been carried out in colloidal WO3 and TiO2 suspensions. Under bandgap excitation of the semiconductor colloids these dyes undergo irreversible reduction as they react with the trapped electrons. The quantum efficiency for the photocatalytic reduction of these dyes were 5.4% and 4.8% for NBB and DB79 respectively. The kinetics and mechanism of the interfacial charge transfer in these colloidal suspension has been elucidated with transient absorption spectroscopy. The reaction between the dye and trapped electrons is diffusion limited and occurs with rate constants of 1.1×108 M−1s−1 and 4.0×107 M−1s−1 for NBB and DB79 respectively.