Effect of heat treatment on adsorption performance and photocatalytic activity of TiO 2-mounted activated carbon cloths

Abstract

Photoactive TiO 2 was homogeneously mounted on PAN-based activated carbon cloths (ACCs) by a process of dip-coating and subsequent annealing in nitrogen atmosphere. The crystallinity of TiO 2 and pore structure of hybrids was characterized by XRD and N 2 adsorption. The adsorption and photocatalytic activity for TiO 2-mounted ACC towards methylene blue (MB) solution was investigated. The results showed that the coating of TiO 2 gel resulted in a marked decrease in specific surface area and pore volume from the pristine ACC, which was recovered gradually with increasing treatment temperature. Besides crystallinity of TiO 2 can be modified by heat treatment, its pore structure can be postulated by adding different amount of polyethylene glycol (PEG). Both pore structure of hybrids and crystallinity of TiO 2 as well as the carbon residue produced by PEG pyrolysis had effects on their adsorptive and photocatalytic performances of TiO 2-mounted ACCs. It would be a promising technology to integrate adsorption and photocatalysis for TiO 2-mounted ACCs.