ABSTRACT
A mixed metal oxide W-TiO2 nanopowder photocatalyst was prepared by using the sol-gel method with a broad range of elemental compositions x = CW/(CW + CTi), including TiO2 and WO3. The material was structurally characterized and evaluated in adsorption and photocatalytic processes by testing its removal capacity of a representative pollutant methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solutions and under UV-A and sunlight illuminations. The nanopowders appeared to be more effective adsorbents than pure TiO2 and WO3 materials, showing a maximum at 15 mol% W, which was set as the tungsten solubility limit in anatase titania. At the same time, the photocatalytic decomposition of MB peaked at 2 mol% W. The examination of different compositions showed that the most effective MB removal took place at 15 mol% W, which was attributed to the combined action of adsorption and heterogeneous photocatalysis. Moreover, MB decomposition under sunlight was stronger than under UV-A, suggesting photocatalyst activation by visible light. The pollutant removal efficiency of the material with 15 mol% W was enhanced by a factor of ~10 compared to pure TiO2 at the beginning of the process, which shows its high potential for use in depollution processes in emergency cases of a great pollutant leak. As a result, a Wx=0.15-TiO2 catalyst could be of high interest for wastewater purification in industrial plants.
ABSTRACT
We report on a new approach to the fabrication of an electronic material: organic-inorganic pHEMA-oxo-TiO(2) hybrid with efficient light-induced separation of charges. Particular attention is paid to the material nanoscale morphology. The size-selected 5.0 nm titanium oxo-alkoxy nanoparticles are prepared in a sol-gel reactor with rapid (turbulent) fluid micromixing and the ligand exchange results in a stable nanoparticulate precursor in HEMA solution, in which polymerization can be induced thermally or by photons. The obtained hybrid materials demonstrate the highest quantum yield of photoinduced charge separation of 50% and can store photoinduced electrons at a number density above 10% Ti atoms.
