Immobilization of TiO 2 nanoparticles on activated carbon fiber and its photodegradation performance for organic pollutants

Abstract

The immobilization of titanium dioxide (TiO 2) on activated carbon fiber (ACF), (TiO 2/ACF), was accomplished by sol–gel-adsorption method followed by calcination at temperatures varying from 300 to 600 °C in an argon atmosphere. The material properties were determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen adsorption. The photodegradation behavior of TiO 2/ACF was investigated in aqueous solutions using phenol and methyl orange (MO) as target pollutants. The effects of calcination temperature, photocatalyst dosage, initial solution pH and radiation time on the degradation of organic pollutants were studied. It was found that organic pollutants could be removed rapidly from water by the TiO 2/ACF photocatalyst and the sample calcined at 500 °C exhibited the highest removal efficiency. Kinetics analysis showed that the photocatalytic degradation reaction can be described by a first-order rate equation. In addition, the possibility of cyclic usage of the photocatalyst was also confirmed. Moreover, TiO 2 is tightly bound to ACF and can be easily handled and recovered from water. It can therefore be potentially applied for the treatment of water contaminated by organic pollutants.