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Preparation of Carbon‐Nanotube‐supported TiO 2 for Enhanced Dye‐degrading Photocatalytic Activity
Author(s) -
Kim Sung Phil,
Choi Hyun Chul
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
bulletin of the korean chemical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.237
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1229-5949
DOI - 10.1002/bkcs.10060
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , photodegradation , methyl orange , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , materials science , titanium dioxide , carbon nanotube , methylene blue , transmission electron microscopy , aqueous solution , nanocomposite , high resolution transmission electron microscopy , chemical engineering , nuclear chemistry , photochemistry , nanotechnology , chemistry , catalysis , organic chemistry , composite material , engineering
Titanium dioxide–carbon nanotube ( TiO 2 ‐CNT ) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by a sol–gel method. The prepared TiO 2 ‐CNT samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy ( TEM ), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy ( XPS ), and X‐ray diffraction ( XRD ). The photocatalytic activity of the samples was tested by photodegradation of methylene blue ( MB ) and methyl orange ( MO ) in aqueous solution under UV ‐light irradiation. In the photocatalytic results, the TiO 2 ‐CNTs , as compared to the pristine TiO 2 and commercial P25 TiO 2 photocatalysts, exhibited the fastest degradation performance in both dye solutions. The TiO 2 ‐CNTs ’ apparent rate constants were 0.0232 and 0.0214 min –1 in the MB and MO solutions, respectively, both of which are approximately 5 times greater than that for the commercial P25 TiO 2 ( MB : 0.0046 min –1 , MO : 0.0043 min –1 ). And as for the estimated electron‐transfer resistance ( R ct ) results from the ac impedance spectra, the values increased in the following order: TiO 2 ‐CNT < P25 TiO 2 < pristine TiO 2 , indicating that CNTs can serve as electron‐transmitting paths, thus suppressing the recombination rate of photogenerated electron/hole pairs. Moreover, the degree of photodegradation inhibition was insignificant in the presence of interfering anion species (1000‐fold).