Characterization of titanium oxide optical band gap produced from leachate sludge treatment with titanium tetrachloride

This study investigated the coagulation performance of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl 4 ) for leachate treatment and preparation of titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) from generated sludge through calcination process at different temperatures and times. TiCl 4 with chitosan as coagulant aid employed to perform coagulation process on Alor Ponhsu Landfill leachate. Further calcination process was done to synthesize TiO 2 from produced sludge for photocatalytic applications. The studied factors included pH, TiCl 4 dosage, and chitosan dosage. The results indicated that maximum reduction in suspended solids was 92.02% at pH 4, 1200 mg/L TiCl 4 , and 250 mg/L chitosan addition, and maximum reduction in chemical oxygen demand was 71.92% at experimental condition of 1200 mg/L TiCl 4 and 500 mg/L chitosan with pH 10. The maximum and minimum band gaps of prepared TiO 2 achieved at 3.35 eV and 2.75 eV, respectively. Morphology and phase analysis of prepared TiO 2 characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD spectrums showed the anatase phase at lower calcination temperature and the rutile phase at elevated temperature. The photocatalysis activity of produced TiO 2 investigated under UV irradiation and showed almost fast degradation similar to commercial TiO 2 . The results indicated that TiO 2 powder was successfully prepared from generated sludge from TiCl 4 coagulation for photocatalytic applications. Graphical abstract