New phthalocyanine–TiO2 nanocomposites with photocatalyst properties

In this study, phthalocyanine (Pc)–TiO2 photocatalysts were obtained using the hydrothermal method. Respectively, symmetric zinc(II) (1), copper(II) (2), cobalt(II) (3), nickel(II) (4), metal-free (5) and asymmetric zinc(II) (6), copper(II) (7) Pc compounds were used for the synthesis of Pc–TiO2 nanocomposites. The structures of 7 variously prepared nanocomposites were elucidated using FEG-SEM, UV-DRS, FTIR, EDX, BET and XRD analysis methods. Photocatalyst properties of Pc(1–7)–TiO2 nanocomposites were determined in terms of their photocatalytic activities. Based on this, Pc–TiO2 nanocomposites tend to degrade the pollutant, methylene blue (MB), under visible light with photocatalytic activity which can be determined by UV–Vis absorption spectra. According to the results obtained, photocatalytic activities of Pc(1–7)–TiO2 nanocomposites were found to be effective with the rate of 100% decay of MB in 100–130 min. After 3 repeated applications to measure reusability, it was determined that the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites was preserved at an average of 87% efficiency.