Multifunctional and highly active zinc titanate incorporated with copper for adsorptive hot syngas desulfurization and photocatalytic dye degradation

Multifunctionality is of a paramount significance in the case of metal oxide-based material. In the present study, Cu-doped zinc titanates in different Cu/Zn weight ratios were prepared with co-precipitation method to utilize as an adsorbent and a photocatalysts for H₂S removal and dye degradation, respectively. The structural and morphological analyses were carried out using XRD, XPS, SEM and BET. The experiment results showed that the catalysts had a desulfurization ability with the Cu/Zn weight ratio of 0.06:1, which H₂S in the feed was captured with 100% efficiency in N₂ atmosphere at 750 °C during 5 h, also the removal decreased to 57% in a reducing atmosphere at the end of 5 h. The appropriate Cu loading content could lead to the high active and low apparent activation energy. In addition, the Cu-based catalyst showed an excellent photocatalytic activity under UV light irradiation, which the degradation of Orange II (OII) was found to be 80% at the end of 3 h. The metal loading reduced the band-gap and increased oxygen vacancies of zinc titanate. The reactive adsorptive desulfurization and excellent photocatalytic activity results demonstrate Cu loaded zinc titanate as a promising material for multifunctional applications.