• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.290-298
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• 2009

In this paper, the Fe-activated carbon fiber (ACF)/$TiO_2$ composite catalysts were prepared by a sol-gel method. The synthesized photocatalysts were used for the photo degradation of Methylene blue solution under UV light. From Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements (BET) data, it was shown the blocking of the micropores on the surface of ACF by treatment of Fe and Ti compound. As shown in SEM images, the ferric compounds and titanium dioxides were fixed onto the ACF surfaces. The result of X-ray powder diffraction showed that the crystal phase contained a mixing anatase and rutile structure and the 'FeO+$TiO_2$' from the composites. The EDX spectra for the elemental analysis showed the presence of C, O, and Ti with Fe peaks. Degradation activity of MB could be attributed to +OH radicals derived from electron/hole pair's reactions due to photolysis of $TiO_2$ and photo-Fenton effect of Fe.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.291-296
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• 2021

Recently, there has been increasing demand for advancing photocatalytic techniques that are capable of the efficient removal of organic pollutants in water. TiO₂, a representative photocatalytic material, has been commonly used as an effective photocatalyst, but it is rather expensive and an alternative is required that will fulfill the requirements of both high performing photocatalytic activities and cost-effectiveness. In this work, ZnO, which is more cost effective than TiO₂, was synthesized by using a microreactor-assisted nanomaterials (MAN) process. The process enabled a continuous production of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with a flower-like structure with high uniformity. In order to resolve the limited light absorption of ZnO arising from its large band gap, Ag NPs were uniformly decorated on the flower-like ZnO surface by using the MAN process. The plasmonic effect of Ag NPs led to a broadening of the absorption range toward visible wavelengths. Ag NPs also helped inhibit the electron-hole recombination by drawing electrons generated from the light absorption of the flower-like ZnO NPs. As a result, the Ag-ZnO nanocomposites showed improved photocatalytic activities compared with the flower-like ZnO NPs. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated through the degradation of methylene blue (MB) solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the successful synthesis of Ag-ZnO nanocomposites with high uniformity. Ag-ZnO nanocomposites synthesized via the MAN process offer the potential for cost-effective and scalable production of next-generation photocatalytic materials.