One-dimensional TiO2 Nanotube Research Articles

An Efficient Method To Form Heterojunction CdS/TiO2 Photoelectrodes Using Highly Ordered TiO2 Nanotube Array Films

A heterojunction CdS/TiO2 photoelectrode is prepared by filling CdS nanoparticles into one-dimensional TiO2 nanotube (NT) array films. The self-assembled TiO2 NTs are fabricated by an anodization method and sensitized with CdS nanoparticles by the close space sublimation technique. The photoactivity of the as-prepared photoelectrodes was measured in a photoelectrochemical solar cell. Under AM 1.5G illumination, a 5.6 mA/cm2 short-circuit current density is achieved using the CdS modified photoelectrode, which represents an enhancement by a factor of 36 in photoactivity compared with that of the plain TiO2 NT array film.

TiO2 nanotube photocatalytic oxidation for water treatment

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a promising technology in addressing the incapability of current water technology. In this present paper, we proposed the fabrication of one-dimensional TiO2 nanotubes through hydrothermal method. Various techniques were used to characterize the nanotubes, i.e. FESEM, HRTEM, XRD and BET. Subsequently, the evaluation of photocatalytic oxidative (PCO) properties of TiO2 nanotubes are compared with the commercial TiO2 P25 (i.e. TiO2 powder) in PCO batch reactor. The TiO2 nanotubes show excellent performance with complete photodegradation of humic acid (HA) in comparison with the 97.7% removal efficiency of P25. The TiO2 nanotubes are also tested in membrane filtration for verification of catalyst separation and recovery. The TiO2 nanotubes were totally separated and recovered with membrane filtration. Lastly, its stability is tested in repeated reuse experiments. No catalyst deactivation is observed after five consecutive PCO experiments of newly added HA. Therefore, our novel nanostructured photoctalyst is an advancement in photocatalytic technology that has significant impact for current water technology.