• Advances in environmental research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.11-28
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• 2014

Advanced oxidation processes using UV and catalysts like $TiO_2$ and ZnO have been recently applied for the photocatalytic degradation of MTBE in water. Attempts have been made to replace the UV radiation by the solar spectrum. This review intends to shed more light on the work that has been done so far in this area of research. The information provided will help in crystallizing the ideas required to shift the trend from UV photocatalysis to sunlight photocatalysis. The careful optimization of the reaction parameters and the type of the dopant employed are greatly responsible for any enhancement in the degradation process. The advantage of shifting from UV photocatalysts to visible light photocatalysts can be observed when catalysts like $TiO_2$ and ZnO are doped with suitable metals. Therefore, it is expected that in the near future, the visible light photocatalysis will be the main technique applied for the remediation of water contaminated with MTBE.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.169-176
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• 2010

The Fe-treated CNT/$TiO_2$ photocatalysts mixed with anatase and rutile phase have been developed for the decomposition of non-biodegradable different organic dyes like methylene blue (MB), rhodamine B (Rh.B), and methyl orange (MO) in two conditions as ultraviolet and visible light respectively. The results indicate that all the Fe-CNT/$TiO_2$ composites proved to be more efficient photocatalysts since degradation of MB at higher reaction rates, tthe decomposition rate of different dyes increases with an increase of $Fe^{3+}$ concentration in composites the highest rate of decomposition of different dyes was noted under UV irradiation. These results can indicate that the large CNT network is facilitate the electron transfer and strongly adsorb dye molecules on the texted photocatalysts, iron is reactive in the photo-Fenton process resulting in high production of OH radicals and also high activity of the photocatalyst. And Fe particles can generate more photoinduced electrons to conduction band of $TiO_2$ under visible light irradiation. The composites of Fe-CNT/$TiO_2$ photocatalysts synthesized by a sol-gel method were characterized by BET, TEM, SEM, XRD and EDX.

• Carbon letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.294-297
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• 2008

A CNT-$TiO_2$ nano composite was prepared from titanium chloride ($TiCl_4$) via sol-gel process using multi walled carbon nano tube (MWCNT) followed by calcination at $450^{\circ}C$. Spectral analysis revealed that the formed $TiO_2$ resided on the carbon in anatase form. The effect of adsorption was investigated using aqueous solution of methylene blue and procion blue dye. The photochemical reaction of CNT-$TiO_2$ composite in aqueous suspensions was studied under UV illumination in batch process. The reaction was investigated by monitoring the discoloration of the dyes employing UV-Visible spectro-photometeric technique as a function of irradiation time. The catalyst composites were found to be efficient for the photodegradation of the dye.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.927-932
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• 2009

Toxic and recalcitrant organic pollutants in wastewaters can be effectively treated when advanced oxidation and biodegradation are combined, ideally with intimate coupling, in which both processes occur simultaneously in the same system. One means to achieve intimate coupling is to coat nanoscale $TiO_2$ on the outside of macroporous biofilm carriers. This study investigated the kinetics of photocatalysis with $TiO_2$-coated porous carriers. The carriers were made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and coated with $TiO_2$ using a low-temperature sol-gel process. The $TiO_2$-coated carriers catalyzed the oxidation of methylene blue (MB) effectively under irradiation of UV light. The overall reaction rate with adsorption and photolysis saturated at high MB concentration, and approached the adsorption rate, which was first order for all MB concent rations. This result indicates that adsorbed MB may have slowed photocatalysis by blocking active sites for photocatalysis. The overall kinetics could be described by a quasi-Langmuir model. The estimated maximum specific (per unit mass of $TiO_2$) transformation rate of MB by the $TiO_2$-coated carriers was four times larger than that obtained from slurry-$TiO_2$ reactors. This observation demonstrated that the $TiO_2$ present as a coating on the carriers maintained high efficiency for transforming recalcitrant organic matter via photocatalysis. These findings serve as a foundation for advancement of an intimate coupling of photocatalysis to biodegradation.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.504-509
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• 2013

In this study, ZnSe-$TiO_2$ composites were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal-assisted sol-gel process and characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms (77 K), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry. The photocatalytic activity was investigated by decoloration methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and rhodamine B (Rh.B) in an aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The results revealed that the photocatalytic activity of the ZnSe-$TiO_2$ photocatalyst was much higher than that of pure$TiO_2$. The ZnSe nanoparticles, which act as a photosensitizer, not only extend the spectral response of $TiO_2$ to the visible region but also reduce charge recombinations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.459.1-459.1
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• 2014

Because both $TiO_2$ and ZnO has superior characteristic optically and electrically, there are various of research for these materials. However, they have large band gap energy which correspond with not visible light, but UV light. To make up for this disadvantage, Quantum dots (CdS, CdSe) which can absorb the visible light could be deposited on $ZnO/TiO_2$ nanostructure so that the the photoelectrochecmical cell can absorb the light that has larger region of wavelength. Both $TiO_2$ and ZnO can be grown to one-dimensional nanowire structure at low temperature through solutional method. Three-dimensional hierarcical $ZnO/TiO_2$ nanostructure is fabricated by applying these process. Large surface area of this structure make the light absorbed more efficiently. Through type 2 like-cascade energy band structure of nanostructure, the efficient separation of electron-hole pairs is expected. Photoelectrochemical charateristics are found by using these nanostructure to photoelectrode.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.449-455
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• 2010

To enhance the efficiency of dye sensitized solar cells, we proposed crystalline anatase-$TiO_{2}$ by using a low temperature process ($150^{\circ}C{\sim}250^{\circ}C$). We successfully fabricated 30 nm-$TiO_{2}$ at a fixed atomic layer deposition condition of 1.0 sec of TDMAT pulse, 20 sec of TDMAT purge, 0.5 sec of H$_{2}$O pulse, and 20 sec of H$_{2}$O purge. In order to examine the microstructure, phase, and band-gap of the TiO$_{2}$ respectively, we employed a Nano-Spec, transmission electron microscope, high resolution XRD, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning probe microscope, and UV-VIS-NIR. We were able to fabricate a crystalline anatase-phase of 30 nm-TiO$_{2}$ successfully at temperatures above $180^{\circ}C$. Our results showed that our proposed low temperature ALD process (below $200^{\circ}C$) might be applicable to glass and flexible polymer substrates.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.171-176
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• 2008

Studies on visible-light-driven photocatalysis of air pollutants at indoor air quality (IAQ) levels have been limited. Current study investigated visible-light derived photocatalysis with N-doped and S-doped titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) for the control of benzene at indoor levels. Two preparation processes were employed for each of the two types of photocatalyst: urea-Degussa P-25 $TiO_2$ and titania-colloid methods for the N-doped $TiO_2$; and titanium isopropoxid- and tetraisopropoxide-thiourea methods for the S-doped $TiO_2$. Furthermore, two coating methods (EDTA- and acetylacetone-dissolving methods) were tested for both the N-doped and S-doped $TiO_2$. The two coating methods exhibited different photocatalytic degradation efficiency for the N-doped photocatalysts, whereas they did not exhibit any difference for the S-doped photocatalysts. In addition, the two doping processes showed different photocatalytic degradation efficiency for both the S-doped and N-doped photocatalysts. For both the N-doped and S-doped $TiO_2$, the photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) efficiency increased as the hydraulic diameter (HD) decreased. The degradation efficiency determined via a PCO system with visible-light induced $TiO_2$ was lower than that with UV-light induced unmodified $TiO_2$, which was obtained from previous studies. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that for the photocatalytic annular reactor with the HD of 0.5 cm, PCO efficiency increased up to 52% for the N-doped $TiO_2$ and 60% for the S-doped $TiO_2$. Consequently, when combined with the advantage of visible light use over UV light use, it is suggested that with appropriate HD conditions, the visible-light-assisted photocatalytic systems can also become an important tool for improving IAQ.

• Clean Technology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2016

This study was performed to study the photocatalyst for controlling the pollutant such as CO, C₂H₅OH and H₂S by the UV light. This was shown in a catalyst having the same volume and the same surface area, that the structure in which the UV light to reach the interior structure exhibits more excellent activity. However, the activity of this activity of this photocatalyst removal of CO was very low. This problem can be solved by performing a reduction process by the addition of the precious metal series of Pt. Particularly, the amount of chemical species Pt⁰ incerased in the surface of Pt/TiO₂ photocatalyst through the reduction process, which make the reaction activity of photocatalyst excellent to the removal of the CO.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.171-176
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• 2008

The VOCs have a direct influence on indoor air pollution, and stimulate respiratory organs and eyes in human body. Also, most of VOCs are a carcinogenic substances and causes to SBS (sickness building syndrome). Therefore, this study was progressed in photocatalysis of VOCs using UV/$TiO_2$ which was a benign process environmentally. The experiments were performed to know photodegradation characteristics as crystalline structure of $TiO_2$ which had anatase, rutile and P-25 (anatase : rutile = 70 : 30). The main purpose of this study was to identify photocatalytic characteristics as inlet concentration of reactants, $H_2O$, and residence time.