Adsorptive and Photocatalytic Properties of Tungsten-Modified Titanium Dioxide

Abstract

We have synthesized oxide composites based on tungsten-modified titanium dioxide and investigated specific features of their formation and their physicochemical, adsorptive, and photocatalytic properties. The results demonstrate that tungsten modification of TiO2 makes it possible to obtain nanopowders (7.2 to 96.7 nm in particle size) with a free specific surface area from 6.4 to 215 m2/g. The synthesized composites have been shown to have considerably higher adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity (PCA) in comparison to unmodified TiO2 with the same thermal history and Degussa P-25 commercially available titanium dioxide. The materials in which tungsten is incorporated into the crystal lattice of anatase, without tungsten in the form of an individual phase, offer the highest PCA. The electrical conductivity of the composites has been shown to correlate with their PCA.