Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study was to prepare a highly active immobilized titania/silica photocatalyst and to test its performance in situ toward degradation of toluene as one of the major toxic indoor contaminants.
Methods
In this work, two different titania layers immobilized on Al sheets were synthesized via low temperature sol–gel method employing presynthesized highly active titania powders (Degussa P25 and Millennium PC500, mass ratio 1:1): (a) with a silica/titania binder and a protective layer and (b) without the binder. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy, and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The in situ photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene was selected as a probe reaction to test photocatalytic activity and to verify the potential application of these materials for air remediation.
Results
Results show that nontransparent highly photocatalytically active coatings based on the silica/titania binder and homogeneously dispersed TiO2 powders were obtained on the Al sheets. The crystalline structure of titania was not altered upon addition of the binder, which also prevented inhomogeneous agglomeration of particles on the photocatalyst surface. The photoactivity results indicate that the adsorption properties and photocatalytic activity of immobilized photocatalysts with the silica/titania binder and an underlying protective layer were very effective and additionally, they exhibited considerably improved adhesion and uniformity.
Conclusion
We present a new highly photocatalytically active immobilized catalyst on a convenient metallic support, which has a potential application in an air cleaning device.
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Acknowledgments
Bachelor student Erik Šinigoj is acknowledged for his contribution in the sample preparation and modification of the photoreactor cell for immobilized catalyst. This research was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency and partly also by the Slovenian–Indian bilateral project “Application of different photocatalytic materials for efficient degradation of different industrial pollutants”. We thank to Rajendra Kurapathri for performing SEM measurements.
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Tasbihi, M., Kete, M., Raichur, A.M. et al. Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene by using immobilized titania/silica on aluminum sheets. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 3735–3742 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0864-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0864-6