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Coupling copper and hydrogenated TiO 2 to bare TiO 2 structures for improved photocatalytic performance
Author(s) -
Kim Yeong Gyeong,
Jo WanKuen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/jace.15335
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , materials science , decomposition , adsorption , copper , photodegradation , visible spectrum , heterojunction , chemical engineering , degradation (telecommunications) , photochemistry , catalysis , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , optoelectronics , organic chemistry , metallurgy , telecommunications , computer science , engineering
Coupling of metals and hydrogenated TiO 2 ( HT ) to bare TiO 2 may improve synergistically the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 for pollutant decomposition. Herein, we address this issue by investigating the photocatalytic performances of Cu‐loaded HT (Cu HT )/bare TiO 2 (Cu HTT ) heterojunction nanocomposites for the degradation of harmful n ‐butanol under simulated solar light illumination. Cu HTT with a Cu HT ‐to‐TiO 2 composition ratio of 0.1 showed a photocatalytic efficiency exceeding those of four reference photocatalysts, exhibiting the advantages of improved visible light absorption efficiency, charge carrier separation, and adsorption capacity. Increasing the Cu HT ‐to‐TiO 2 ratio from 0.01 to 0.1 improved the photocatalytic efficiency of Cu HTT , whereas a further increase to 0.9 resulted in a decreased photocatalytic efficiency. Moreover, the photocatalytic efficiency improved as relative humidity increased from 20% to 70%, decreasing upon its further increase to 95%. The efficiencies of n ‐butanol to CO 2 conversion over Cu HTT were lower than the corresponding decomposition efficiencies. Incompletely oxidized CO and three organic vapors (butanal, propanal, and 1‐propanol) were determined as major intermediates. A possible mechanism for Cu HTT ‐catalyzed photodegradation under simulated solar illumination was proposed.