• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.98-103
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• 2011

Photocatalysis using UV light and catalysts is an attractive low temperature and non-energy- intensive method for remediation of a wide range of chemical contaminants like chloroform (CF). Recently development of environmental friendly and sustainable catalytic systems is needed before such catalysts can be routinely applied to large-scale remediation or drinking water treatment. Titanium dioxide is a candidate material, since it is stable, highly reactive, and inexpensive. Diatoms are photosynthetic, single-celled algae that make a microscale silica shell with nano scale features. These diatoms have an ability to biologically fabricate $TiO_2$ nanoparticles into this shell in a process that parallels nanoscale silica mineralization. We cultivated diatoms, metabolically deposited titanium into the shell by using a two-stage photobioreactor and used this biogenic $TiO_2$ to this study. In this study we evaluated how effectively biogenic $TiO_2$ nanoparticles transform CF compared with chemically-synthesized $TiO_2$ nanoparticlesthe and effect of pretreatment of diatom-produced $TiO_2$ nanoparticles on photocatalytic transformation of CF. The rate of CF transformation by diatom-$TiO_2$ particles is a factor of 3 slower than chemically-synthesized one and chloride ion production was also co-related with CF transformation, and 79~91% of CF mineralization was observed in two $TiO_2$ particles. And the period of sonication and mass transfer due to particle size, evaluated by difference of oxygen tention does not affect on the CF transformation. Based on the XRD analysis we conclude that slower CF transformation by diatom-$TiO_2$ might be due to incomplete annealing to the anatase form.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.328-335
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• 2017

Fabricating photocatalytic composite membrane with a mesoporous and tailored morphological structure would have significant implication for environmental remediation. In this study, we reported hybrid $TiO_2$ immobilized photocatalytic membrane and its application for the treatment of dye solution. Photocatalytic film with high porosity and homogeneity was fabricated by graft copolymer as polymer template. Hybridization of membrane filtration with photocatalysis was successfully achieved by photocatalytic membrane reactor developed. Result showed that membrane permeability was significantly reduced after immobilizing the $TiO_2$ film on bare $Al_2O_3$ support. The membrane characterization indicated that well organized $TiO_2$ film was successfully formed on $Al_2O_3$ support. Benefiting from the controlled morphology of $TiO_2$ film, the composite membrane exhibited almost complete degradation of organic dye within 5 h of filtration under UV illumination. Langmuir-Hinshelwood model explained degradation of organic dye. First-order rate constant was approximately six times with $TiO_2$ immobilized composite ceramic membrane, higher than the one with the bare $Al_2O_3$ support (0.0081 vs. $0.0013min^{-1}$).

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.344-350
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• 2010

The improved photocatalytic performance of a carbon/$TiO_2$ composite was studied for the Bisphenol A (BPA) decomposition. Titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and a rice husk from Korea were heterogeneously mixed as the titanium and carbon sources, respectively, for 3 h at room temperature, and then thermally treated at $600^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in $H_2$ gas. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed that the bulk carbon partially covered the $TiO_2$ particles, and the amount that was covered increased with the addition of the rice husk. The acquired carbon/$TiO_2$ composite exhibited an anatase structure and a novel peak at $2{\theta}=32^{\circ}$, which was assigned to bulk carbon. The specific surface area was significantly enhanced to 123~164 $m^2/g$ in the carbon/$TiO_2$ composite, compared to $32.43m^2/g$ for the pure $TiO_2$. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results showed that the Ti-O bond was weaker in the carbon/$TiO_2$ composite than in the pure $TiO_2$, resulting in an easier electron transition from the Ti valence band to the conduction band. The carbon/$TiO_2$ composite absorbed over the whole UV-visible range, whereas the absorption band in the pure$TiO_2$ was only observed in the UV range. These results agreed well with an electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) study that showed that the electrons were rapidly transferred to the surface of the carbon/$TiO_2$ composite compared to the pure $TiO_2$. The photocatalytic performance of the BPA removal was optimized at a Ti:C ratio of 9.5:0.5, and this photocatalytic composite completely decomposed 10.0 ppm BPA after 210 min, whereas the pure $TiO_2$ achieved no more than 50% decomposition under any conditions.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.84-91
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• 2005

$TiO_2-catalyst$ suspensions work efficiently in Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) for wastewater treatment. Nevertheless, once photocatalysis is completed, separation of the catalyst from solution becomes the main problem. The PCO of Cu(II)-EDTA was studied to determine the reusability of the titanium dioxide catalyst. Aqueous solutions of $10^{-4}M$ Cu(II)-EDTA were treated using illuminated $TiO_2$ particles at pH 6 in a circulating reactor. $TiO_2$ was reused in PCO system for treatment of Cu(II)-EDTA comparing two procedures: reuse of water and $TiO_2$ and reuse of the entire suspension after PCO of Cu(II)-EDTA. The results are as follows; (i) Photocatalytic efficiency worsens with successive runs when catalyst and water are reused without separation and filtration, whereas, when $TiO_2$ is separated from water, the reused $TiO_2$ is not deactivated. (ii) The $TiO_2$ mean recovery (%) with reused $TiO_2$ was 86.4%(1.73g/L). Although the mean initial degradation rate of Cu(II)-EDTA and Cu(II) was lower than that using fresh $TiO_2$, there was no significant change in the rate during the course of the three-trial experiment. It is suggested that Cu(II)-EDTA could be effectively treated using an recycling procedure of PCO and catalyst recovery. (iii) However, without $TiO_2$ separation, the loss of efficiency of the PCO in the use of water and $TiO_2$ due to Cu(II), DOC remained from previous degradation and Cu(II)-EDTA added to the same suspension was observed after 2 trials, and resulted in the inhibition of the Cu(II)-EDTA, Cu(II) and DOC destruction.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.555-561
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• 2009

Expanded graphite (EG) is synthesized by chemical intercalation of natural graphite (NG) and rapid expansion at high temperature, with titanium n-butoxide (TNB) used as titanium source by a sol-gel method to prepare EG-TiO$_2$ composite. The performances of the prepared EG-TiO$_2$ composite are characterized by BET surface area measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). To compare the photocatalytic activities of the EG-TiO$_2$ composite, three kinds of dye solutions, methylene blue (MB), methylene orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB), and two kinds of light source, UV light and visible light (VL), are used. Comparing the results, it can be clearly seen that the degradation of all of the dye solutions under irradiation by UV light is much better than that under irradiation by visible light, and the decomposition of MB solution was better than that of both of MO and RhB solution.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1195-1201
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• 2008

Enhancing with non-metallic elemental nitrogen(N) is one of several methods that have been proposed to modify the electronic properties of bulk titanium dioxide($TiO_2$), in order to make $TiO_2$ effective under visible-light irradiation. Accordingly, current study evaluated the feasibility of applying visible-light-induced $TiO_2$ enhanced with N element to cleanse aromatic compounds, focusing on xylene isomers at indoor air quality(IAQ) levels. The N-enhanced $TiO_2$ was prepared by applying two popular processes, and they were coated by applying two well-known methods. For three o-, m-, and p-xylene, the two coating methods exhibited different photocatalytic oxidation(PCO) efficiencies. Similarly, the two N-doping processes showed different PCO efficiencies. For all three stream flow rates(SFRs), the degradation efficiencies were similar between o-xylene and m,p-xylene. The degradation efficiencies of all target compounds increased as the SFR decreased. The degradation efficiencies determined via a PCO system with N-enhanced visible-light induced $TiO_2$ was somewhat lower than that with ultraviolet(UV)-light induced unmodified $TiO_2$, which was reported by previous studies. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that PCO efficiencies increased up to 94% for o-xylene and 97% for the m,p-xylene under lower SFR(0.5 L $min^{-1}$). Consequently, it is suggested that with appropriate SFR conditions, the visible-light-assisted photocatalytic systems could also become important tools for improving IAQ.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.370.1-370.1
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• 2016

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are considered hazardous air pollutants and these are emitted from building materials and household products. VOCs can cause global warming as well as human sickness, and even cancer. Photocatalysis provides a way of converting VOCs into harmless materials. Various researches have shown that $TiO_2$ is the most efficient photocatalysts due to its excellent activity. In this study, metal/non-metal doped $TiO_2$ particles are synthesized for the enhancement of the photocatalytic properties of pure $TiO_2$. By metal/non-metal doping, band gap energies of prepared samples were analyzed by UV/Visible spectrophotometer. The physical and chemical properties of synthesized powder were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope, by BET for measuring their specific surface area, and by XRD for phase identification and particle size determination. Degradation ability for p-xylene was evaluated through monitoring the concentration in a closed chamber. Relation between their properties and decomposition abilities for VOC were evaluated based on the experimental results.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.108-114
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• 2012

Salicylic acid degrades at different rates under UV-A light on $TiO_2$, ZnO, CuO, $Fe_2O_3$, $Fe_3O_4$ and $ZrO_2$ nanocrystals and all the oxides exhibit sustainable photocatalysis. While ZnO-photocatalysis displays Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics the others follow first order on [salicylic acid]. The degradation on all the oxides enhance with illumination intensity. Dissolved oxygen is essential for the photodegradation. ZnO is the most efficient photocatalyst to degrade salicylic acid. Besides serving as the effective photocatalyst to degrade salicylic acid it also acts as a bactericide and inactivates E.coli even in absence of direct light.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.243-247
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• 2012

Photocatalysis has been applied to decompose the waste and toxic materials produced in daily life and in the global environment. Pure $TiO_2$ (Zn-$TiO_2$-0) and Zn-doped $TiO_2$ (Zn-$TiO_2$-x, x = 3-10 mol %) samples were synthesized using a novel sol-gel and ammonia-evaporation method. The Zn-doped $TiO_2$ samples showed high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB). The physicochemical properties of the samples were investigated using XRD, SEM, ICP, DLS and BET methods. In addition, the most important measurement of photocatalytic ability was investigated by a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The effects of the mol % of zinc ion doping in $TiO_2$ on photocatalytic activity were studied. Among the mol % Zn ions investigated, the Zn-$TiO_2$-9 sample showed the highest photoreactivity. This sample removed 91.4% of the MB after 4 h, while the pure $TiO_2$ only removed 46.4% of the MB.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.3031-3038
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• 2009

Cobalt-loaded activated carbon fibers (ACFs) supported titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) photocatalyst was developed by sol-gel method. The Co-ACFs/$TiO_2$ photocatalyst were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X.ray diffraction patterns (XRD), energy dispersive X.ray analysis (EDX) and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Decomposition efficiency of methylene blue (MB) solution by Co-ACFs/$TiO_2$ photocatalyst reached almost 100% under 300 min reaction. The MB molecules in the bulk solutions were supposed to be condensed around $TiO_2$ particles by adsorption of ACFs. Therefore, the photocatalyst possesses the combined effect of adsorption by activated carbon fibers and photocatalytic reactivity of $TiO_2$ on MB degradation. Due to the cobalt has electron transition effece, thus improved the photodegradation of MB solution.