• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.319-324
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to evaluate influences of titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) concentrations and irradiation times on growth of Streptococcus mutans when irradiated by visible light (405 nm wavelength) and by ultraviolet light (254 nm wavelength). To find the optimal antibacterial concentration of $TiO_2$, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 mg/ml $TiO_2$ suspension was prepared with sterilized distilled water. S. mutans cultured media was added to $TiO_2$ solution to set the final cell count to $10^4CFU/ml$. The photocatalytic reaction was induced by irradiating 254 nm and 405 nm lights for 10 minutes. To compare the bactericidal activities according to irradiation times, all photocatalytic reaction was carried out with 0.1 mg/ml $TiO_2$ for 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes with both lights. After the photocatalytic reaction, $100{\mu}m$ of the reaction mixture was immediately plated on brain heart infusion agar. These plates were placed at 5% $CO_2$, $37^{\circ}C$, for 24 hours and the bacterial colonies were counted. All experiments were performed in quintuplicate. One-way ANOVA was used to determine whether there were any significant differences between the $TiO_2$ concentrations or the irradiation times. The most effective concentration of $TiO_2$ for its photocatalytic bactericidal effect on S. mutans was 0.1 mg/ml when irradiated with 254 nm and 405 nm lights. The longer the irradiation time, the bigger the bactericidal effect for both wavelengths. Over 99% of bacteria in the inoculum were killed after irradiation with 254 nm for 20 minutes and with 405 nm for 40 minutes. In conclusion, a photocatalytic reaction of $TiO_2$ induced by visible light of 405 nm constitutes the bactericidal effect on S. mutans.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.259-266
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• 2019

Tuning of electro-optical properties of nano-structured $SnO_2:Ga$ powders in a micro drop fluidized reactor (MDFR) was highly effective to enhance the activities of powders to be used as sensor materials. The tuning was conducted continuously in a facile one-step process during the formation of powders. The microscopic hydrodynamic forces affected the band gap structure and charge transfer of $SnO_2:Ga$ powders through the oxygen and interfacial tin vacancies by providing plausible pyro-hydraulic conditions, which resulted in the decrease in the electrical resistance of the materials. The analyses of room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra and FT-IR exhibited that the tuning could improve the surface activities of $SnO_2:Ga$ powders by adjusting the excitation as well as separation of electrons and holes, thus maximizing the oxygen vacancies at the surface of the powders. The scheme of photocatalytic mechanism of $SnO_2:Ga$ powders was also discussed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.688-693
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• 2008

TiO$_2$ photocatalyst films deposited beads were prepared by circulating fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition(CFB-CVD) using TTIP(Titanium Tetra Iso-Propoxyde). Photocatalytic activities of Photocatalyst beads were evaluated by decomposition rate of formaldehyde in aqueous solution using a photo-reactor. From the result of photocatalytic degradation of formaldehyde, decomposition rate were shown gradually increased according to the increase of UV intensity, circulating fluid velocity and addition amount of H$_2$O$_2$. However the decomposition rate of formaldehyde were decreased according to the increase of initial concentration and pH value.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.42-45
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• 2013

Natural photosynthesis utilizes solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water to energy-rich carbohydrates. Substantial use of sunlight to meet world energy demands requires energy storage in useful fuels via chemical bonds because sunlight is intermittent. Artificial photosynthesis research focuses the fundamental natural process to design solar energy conversion systems. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide ($NAD^+$) and $NADP^+$ are ubiquitous as electron transporters in biological systems. Enzymatic, chemical, and electrochemical methods have been reported for NADH regeneration. As photochemical systems, visible light-driven catalytic activity of NADH regeneration was carried out using platinum nanoparticles, molecular rhodium and cobalt complexes in the presence of triethanolamine as a sacrificial electron donor. Pt nanoparticles showed photochemical NADH regeneration activity without additional visible light collector molecules, demonstrating that both photoactivating and catalytic activities exist together in Pt nanoparticles. The NADH regeneration of the Pt nanoparticle system was not interfered with the reduction of $O_2$. Molecular cobalt complexes containing dimethylglyoxime ligands also transfer their hydrides to $NAD^+$ with photoactivation of eosin Y in the presence of TEOA. In this photocatalytic reaction, the $NAD^+$ reduction process competed with a proton reduction.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.477-482
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• 2017

Nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (N-doped $TiO_2$) is attracting continuously increasing attention as a material for environmental photocatalysis. The N-atoms can occupy both interstitial and substitutional positions in the solid, with some evidence of a preference for interstitial sites. In this study, N-doped $TiO_2$ is prepared by the sol-gel method using $NH_4OH$ and $NH_4Cl$ as N ion doping agents, and the physical and photocatalytic properties with changes in the synthesis temperature and amount of agent are analyzed. The photocatalytic activities of the N-doped $TiO_2$ samples are evaluated based on the decomposition of methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation. The addition of 5 wt% $NH_4Cl$ produces the best physical properties. As per the UV-vis analysis results, the N-doped $TiO_2$ exhibits a higher visible-light activity than the undoped $TiO_2$. The wavelength of the N-doped $TiO_2$ shifts to the visible-light region up to 412 nm. In addition, this sample shows MB removal of approximately 81%, with the whiteness increasing to +97 when the synthesis temperature is $600^{\circ}C$. The coloration and phase structure of the N-doped $TiO_2$ are characterized in detail using UV-vis, CIE Lab color parameter measurements, and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD).

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.179-184
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• 2012

The light absorbance of photocatalysts and reaction kinetics of environmental pollutants at the liquid-solid and gas-solid interfaces differ from each other. Nevertheless, many previous photocatalytic studies have applied the science to aqueopus applications without due consideration of the environment. As such, this work reports the surface and morphological characteristics and photocatalytic activities of carbon-embedded (C-$TiO_2$) photocatalysts for control of gas-phase methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) under a range of different operational conditions. The C-$TiO_2$ photocatalysts were prepared by oxidizing titanium carbide powders at $350^{\circ}C$. The characteristics of the C-$TiO_2$ photocatalysts, along with pure TiC and the reference pure $TiO_2$, were then determined by X-ray diffraction, scanning emission microscope, diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-VIS-NIR), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The C-$TiO_2$ powders showed a clear shift in the absorbance spectrum towards the visible region, which indicated that the C-$TiO_2$ photocatalyst could be activated effectively by visible-light irradiation. The MTBE decomposition efficiency depended on operational parameters, including the air flow rate (AFR), input concentration (IC), and relative humidity (RH). As the AFRs decreased from 1.5 to 0.1 L/min, the average efficiencies for MTBE increased from 11% to 77%. The average decomposition efficiencies for the ICs of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 ppm were 77%, 77%, 54%, and 38%, respectively. In addition, the decomposition efficiencies for RHs of 20%, 45%, 70%, and 95% were 92%, 76%, 50%, and 32%, respectively. These findings indicate that the prepared photocatalysts could be effectively applied to control airborne MTBE if their operational conditions were optimized.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2022

Titanate nanotubes (TNTs) were synthesized via alkaline hydrothermal treatment using commercial TiO₂ nanoparticles (P25). The TNTs were prepared at various TiO₂/NaOH ratios, hydrothermal temperatures, and hydrothermal times. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms, field-emission transmission electron microscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. TNTs were generated upon a decrease in the TiO₂/NaOH ratio due to the dissolution of TiO₂ in the alkaline solution and the generation of new Ti-O-Ti bonds to form titanate nanoplates and nanotubes. The hydrothermal treatment temperature and time were important factors for promoting the nucleation and growth of TNTs. The TNT catalyst with the largest surface area (389.32 m² g^-1) was obtained with a TiO₂/NaOH ratio of 0.25, a hydrothermal treatment temperature of 130 ℃, and a hydrothermal treatment time of 36 h. Additionally, we investigated the photocatalytic activity of methyl violet 2B (MV) over the TNT catalysts under UV irradiation and found that the degradation efficiencies of the TNTs were higher than that of P25. Among the TNT catalysts, the TNT catalyst that was hydrothermally synthesized for 36 h (TNT 36 h) exhibited a 96.9% degradation efficiency and a degradation rate constant that was 4.8 times higher than P25 due to its large surface area, which allowed for more contact between the MV molecules and TNT surfaces and facilitated rapid electron transfer. Finally, these results were correlated with the specific surface area.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.179-184
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• 2017

In this paper, a $ZnO/SiO_2$ nano-composite was prepared by a simple chemical method at room temperature. For the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), a sonochemical method was used, and $SiO_2$ NPs were prepared by precipitation method. The formation of $ZnO/SiO_2$ NCs was characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and confirmed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy(FT-IR). The photocatalytic properties of $ZnO/SiO_2$ NCs formed at different concentrations of $SiO_2$ were evaluated by rhodamine-B dye. It was confirmed that increasing $SiO_2$ concentration resulted in an increase in the photocatalytic property. In addition, the antibacterial activity of $ZnO/SiO_2$ NCs was conducted against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). As a result, the antibacterial activities of E.coli and S. aureus were increased in the presence of thick SiO NPs layer.

• Clean Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 2019

CdS and CdZnS/ZnO materials were prepared using precipitation method and used as photocatalysts for the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The prepared photocatalysts were also characterized by XRD and UV-vis DRS. The results indicated that the photocatalysts with intended crystalline structures were successfully obtained and both the CdS and CdZnS/ZnO can absorb visible light as well as UV. The photocatalytic activities were examined with the addition of scavenger for various active chemical species and the difference of reaction mechanisms over the catalysts were discussed. The $CH_3OH$, KI and p-benzoquinone were used as scavengers for ${\cdot}OH$ radical, photogenerated positive hole and ${\cdot}O_2{^-}$ radical, respectively. The CdS and CdZnS/ZnO showed different photocatalytic degradation mechanisms of RhB. It can be postulated that ${\cdot}O_2{^-}$ radical is the main active species for the reaction over CdS photocatalyst, while the photogenerated positive hole for CdZnS/ZnO photocatalyst. As a result, the predominant reaction pathways over CdS and CdZnS/ZnO photocatalysts were found to be the dealkylation of chromophore skeleton and the cleavage of the conjugated chromophore structure, respectively. The above results may be mainly ascribed to the difference of band edge potential of conduction and valence bands in CdS, CdZnS and ZnO semiconductors and the redox potentials for formation of active chemical species.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.771-780
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• 2014

In this study, the various organic supports (i.e., silicone, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, epoxy, and, butadiene rubber) with great sorption capacity of organic contaminants were chosen to develop nano-ZnO/organic composites (NZOCs) and to prevent the detachment of nano-ZnO particles. The water resistance of the developed NZOCs were evaluated, and the feasibility of the developed NZOCs were investigated by evaluating the removal efficiency of 1,1,2-trichloroethylene (TCE) in the aqueous phase. Based on the results from water-resistance experiments, long-term water treatment usage of all NZOCs was found to be feasible. According to the FE-SEM, EDX, and imaging analysis, nano-ZnO/butadiene rubber composite (NZBC) with various sizes and types of porosity and crack was measured to be coated with relatively homogeneously-distributed nano-ZnO particles whereas nano-ZnO/silicone composite (NZSC), nano-ZnO/ABS composite (NZAC), and nano-ZnO/epoxy composite (NZEC) with poorly-developed porosity and crack were measured to be coated with relatively heterogeneously-distributed nano-ZnO particles. The sorption capacity of NZBC was close to 60% relative to the initial concentration, and this result was mainly attributed to the amorphous structure of NZBC, hence the hydrophobic partitioning of TCE to the amorphous structure of NZBC intensively occurred. The removal efficiency of TCE in aqueous phase using NZBC was close to 99% relative to the initial concentration, and the removal efficiency of TCE was improved as the amount of NZBC increased. These results stemmed from the synergistic mechanisms with great sorption capability of butadiene rubber and superior photocatalytic activities of nano-ZnO. Finally, the removal efficiency of TCE in aqueous phase using NZBC was well represented by linear model ($R^2{\geq}0.936$), and the $K_{app}$ values of NZBC were from 2.64 to 3.85 times greater than those of $K_{photolysis}$, indicating that butadiene rubber was found to be the suitable organic supporting materials with enhanced sorption capacity and without inhibition of photocatalytic activities of nano-ZnO.