Investigation of carbon nanomaterial inlfuence on photocatalytic properties of TiO2

Abstract

Abstract. One of industrial activity (agriculture and other) problems is the leftover materials that seep into soil and water. A possible mitigation of this pollution is photocatalytic degradation as it can be installed for passive waste degradation in proximity of water sources or directly in them. A stable and environmentally safe photocatalytic material titanium dioxide (TiO2) efficiency can be improved with addition of carbon material. In this work investigation of commercial and synthesized carbon nanomaterial introduction in nanostructured TiO2 has been carried out with the aim to increase the efficiency and lower production costs. The photocatalytic properties of these composite materials are compared. Synthesized nitrogen doped carbon material is compared to commercial carbon doped with platinum. In situ addition to anodic TiO2 and the influence on photocatalytic properties were investigated. As a first step of pollution degradation, methylene blue (MB) degradation has been compared. It is shown that commercial C/Pt promotes faster TiO2 phase transition to rutile at higher loads and lowers photocurrent response. On the other hand, self-synthesized carbon material promotes charge carrier separation and increases photocurrent response but seems to lower MB degradation with higher loading. Thus, current work indicates that in situ carbon doping increases photocatalytic activity in the visible light region. Synthesized N doped carbon does not to promote MB degradation in comparison to commercial C/Pt, but further investigation of the source of variation of activity is necessary as introduction of C/Pt brings TiO2 crystallinity changes.