Preparation of TiO₂/Activated Carbon Composites for Photocatalytic Degradation of RhB under UV Light Irradiation

Abstract

Photocatalysts comprising nanosized TiO2particles on activated carbon (AC) were prepared by a sol-gel method. The TiO2/AC composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). Their photocatalytic activities were studied through the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in photocatalytic reactor at room temperature under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation and the effect of loading cycles of TiO2on the structural properties and photocatalytic activity of TiO2/AC composites was also investigated. The results indicate that the anatase TiO2particles with a crystal size of 10–20 nm can be deposited homogeneously on the AC surface under calcination at 500°C. The loading cycle plays an important role in controlling the loading amount of TiO2and morphological structure and photocatalytic activity of TiO2/AC composites. The porosity parameters of these composite photocatalysts such as specific surface area and total pore volume decrease whereas the loading amount of TiO2increases. The TiO2/AC composite synthesized at 2 loading cycles exhibits a high photocatalytic activity in terms of the loading amount of TiO2and as high as 93.2% removal rate for RhB from the 400 mL solution at initial concentration of 2 × 10−5 mol/L under UV light irradiation.

Photodegradation of 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Chloride [Bmim]Cl via Synergistic Effect of Adsorption–Photodegradation of Fe-TiO2/AC

“…The amorphous carbon structure reveals two distinct peaks at 24.6 • (002) and 43.9 • (110), which proves the successful production of AC via the described method in Section 2.2. However, these degrees diminish after depositing TiO 2 onto AC, could be due to the dominant peak of anatase TiO 2 [31]. In addition, no peak related to Fe 2 O 3 was detected, even at the highest amount of Fe loading (0.5 wt %), which shows that Fe was uniformly distributed on the TiO 2 surface.…”

TiO2 Modified with Organic Acids for the Decomposition of Chlorfenvinphos under the Influence of Visible Light: Activity, Performance, Adsorption, and Kinetics

“…For the practical application of heterogeneous processes involving semiconductors, it is important to increase the efficiency of the visible photocatalysis process, eliminate the agglomeration of TiO 2 particles, reduce the phenomenon of blocking active sites by intermediate products, and increase the efficiency of separation of catalysts particles from the reaction mixture. Therefore, much attention is currently paid to TiO 2 modification [8][9][10][11][12]. The above effects can be achieved by using organic acids such as succinic acid or pyruvic acid.…”

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ultra-Light Coal-Based Graphene Oxide Aerogel for Efficient Removal of Dyes from Aqueous Solutions

“…Water pollution has become one of the most urgent global environmental issues due to the rapid development of modern industry worldwide. Among a variety of water pollutions, dyes are the most common pollutants appearing in wastewater from the textile, printing, paper, cosmetics, feather, and leather industries [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Since most dyes do not biodegrade and have high toxicity (e.g., carcinogenic and mutagenic effects), the presence of dyes even at very low concentrations (less than 1 ppm for some dyes) in water is highly visible and undesirable, and can lead to severe problems in human health [ 4 , 5 , 6 ].…”