Preparation of photocatalytic TiO 2 coatings of nanosized particles on activated carbon by AP-MOCVD

Abstract

Anatase TiO 2 coatings on highly porous activated carbon were prepared by a novel method—atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (AP-MOCVD). At a source temperature of 423 K, the TiO 2 particles were mostly coated on the external surface of activated carbon. These particles were well dispersed with their sizes ranging from 10 to 50 nm. The optimum loading of TiO 2 was found to be 12 wt%. The TiO 2 photocatalysts so prepared behave similarly to that of the pure commercial TiO 2 powder. The activated carbon supported TiO 2 catalyst could be easily separated from the treated water with its catalytic performance maintained even after 10 cycles, indicating that the TiO 2 coating was stable. It was observed that TiO 2 supported on activated carbon had a high capacity to mineralize pollutants. Consequently, activated carbon supported TiO 2 by AP-MOCVD is a promising photocatalyst for the photodegradation of pollutants in water.