• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.142-150
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• 2009

In this paper, non-treated ACF (Activated Carbon Fiber) /$TiO_2$ and Zn-treated ACF/$TiO_2$ were prepared. The prepared composites were characterized in terms of their structural crystallinity, elemental identification and photocatalytic activity. XRD patterns of the composites showed that the non-treated ACF/$TiO_2$ composite contained only typical single and clear anatase forms while the Zn-treated ACF/$TiO_2$ contained a mixed anatase and rutile phase with a unique ZnO peak. SEM results show that the titanium complex particles are uniformly distributed on and around the fiber and that the titanium complex particles are more regularly distributed on and around the ACF surfaces upon an increase of the $ZnCl_2$ concentration. These EDX spectra show the presence of peaks from the C, O and Ti elements. Moreover, peaks of the Zn element were observed in the Zn-treated ACF/$TiO_2$ composites. The prominent photocatalytic activity of the Zn-treated ACF/$TiO_2$ can be attributed to the three different effects of photo-degradation: doping, absorptivity by an electron transfer, and adsorptivity of porous ACFs between the Zn-$TiO_2$ and Zn-ACF.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.408-415
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• 2009

Iron-loaded activated carbon fibers (Fe-ACF) supported titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) photocatalyst (Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$) was synthesized using a sol-gel method. Three different types of Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$ were obtained by treatment with different precursor of Fe, and characterized using BET, SEM, XRD and EDX analysis. The photocatalytic activity of Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$ was investigated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh.B) solution under UV irradiation. From the experimental results, it was revealed that Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$ composites show considerable photocatalytic ability for the removal of Rh.B by comparing non-treated ACF/$TiO_2$ composites. And photo-Fenton reaction with Fe element was incoordinately influenced due to different precursor of Fe. It clearly indicates that Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$ composites prepared using $FeCl_3$ provided the highest photo-Fenton activity, then, which was affected by pH changes on the degradation of Rh.B.

• Carbon letters
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 2007

In this work, activated carbon (AC) after $HNO_3$ modification was used as the support during the production of supported $TiO_2$ to increase the high deposition efficiency and the photocatalytic activity. The results of $N_2$ adsorption showed that the BET surface area of samples decreased with an increasing of the concentration of $HNO_3$ due to the penetration of $TiO_2$. From XRD data, a single crystal structure of anatase peak was observed in diffraction patterns for the AC coated with titanium complexes. From the SEM results, almost all particles were aggregated with each other at the carbon surface and AC was covered with $TiO_2$ particles in all of the samples. The EDX spectra show the presence of C, O, Ti and other elements. It was also observed a decreasing of amount of C content with increasing Ti and O content from the EDX. The results of FT-IR revealed that the modified AC contained more surface oxygen bearing groups than that of the original AC. The effect of surface acidity and basity calculated from Boehm titration method was also evaluated from correlations as a function of NaOH, $NaHCO_3$, and $Na_2CO_3$ uptake. The surface modification of AC by $HNO_3$ leads to an increase in the catalytic efficiency of AC/$TiO_2$ catalysts, and the catalytic efficiency increases with increasing of $HNO_3$ concentration.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.178-183
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• 2014

Recently, various type of nanomaterials such as nanorod, nanowire, nanotube and their core/shell nanostructures have attracted much attention in photocatalyst due to their unique properties. Among them, Type-II core/shell heterostructures have extensively studied because it has exhibited improved electrical and optical properties against their single-component nanostructure. Such structures are expected to offer high absorption efficiency and fast charge transport due to their stepwised energetic combination and large internal surface area. Thus, it has been considered as potential candidates for high efficient photocatalytic activity. In this work, we introduce a novel chemical conversion process to synthesize Type-II ZnO/ZnSe core/shell heterostructures. A plausible conversion mechanism to ZnO/ZnSe core/shell heterostructres was proposed based on SEM, XRD, TEM and XPS analysis. The ZnO/ZnSe heterostructures exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity toward the decomposition of RhB dye compared to the ZnO nanorod arrays due to enhanced light absorption and the type-II cascade band structure.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.329-334
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• 2009

Yttrium ions doped $TiO_2$ particles have been prepared using a low temperature combustion method. The physical properties were investigated, together with the activity of $TiO_2$ particles as a photocatalyst for the decomposition of methylene blue. From XRD results, the major phase of all the $TiO_2$ particles prepared under basic condition was an anatase structure but a rutile peak was observed when they are prepared under acidic condition. The crystallite size of $TiO_2$ particles was decreased as the molar ratio of CA/TTIP increased. The photocatalytic activity increased with an increase of CA/TTIP molar ratio and pH in the solution. In addition, the doping of 1.0 mole% yttrium ion on the $TiO_2$ enhanced the photocatalytic activity and showed the higher activity than commercial P-25 catalyst.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2012

Abstract: In this study, PAN/$TiO_2$ fiber mats were fabricated from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and titanium(IV) butoxide ($Ti(OBu)_4$) by an electrospinning method with various solution concentrations, applied voltages and solution flow rates. The fiber mats were irradiated with an electron beam to induce structural crosslinking and enhance photocatalytic activity. As a result, uniform and bead-free fibers without pits or cracks on surface were obtained at 5 wt% of $Ti(OBu)_4$ solution with 15 kV and 0.02 mL/min flow rate. The PAN/$TiO_2$ fiber mats were irradiated with an electron beam of 1.14 MeV acceleration voltage, 4 mA of current and $1{\times}10^4kGy$. Electron beam irradiation was enhanced the photocatalytic activity of PAN/$TiO_2$ nano fiber mat. The photocatalytic activity of the PAN/$TiO_2$ fiber mat was analyzed by degradation of methylene blue and volatile organic compounds.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.460-467
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• 2006

Carbon-coated $TiO_2$ was prepared by $CCl_4$ solvent mixing method with different heat treatment temperature (HTT). Since the carbon layers derived from pitch on the $TiO_2$ particles were porous, the carbon-coated $TiO_2$ sample series showed a good adsorptivity and photo decomposition activity. The BET surface area was decreased by the increasing of the heat treatment temperature. The SEM results present to the characterization of surface texture on the carbon-coated $TiO_2$ sample and carbon distributions on the surfaces for all the materials used. The main elements of C, O and Ti were shown from EDX spectra. And the quantity of these elements is very rich in the samples. From XRD data, the pristine anatase peaks were observed in the X-ray diffraction patterns for the carbon-coated $TiO_2$ at the different HTTs. However, the rutile peaks were observed for the carbon-coated $TiO_2$ at HTT of 1073 K and 1123 K. Finally, the excellent photocatalytic activity of carbon-coated $TiO_2$ with UV-vis spectra between absorbance and time could be attributed to the homogeneous coated carbon on the external surface and structural phase transform, and the photocatalytic activity was decreased by the increasing of the HTT.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1263-1271
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• 2013

Graphene oxide (GO)-titania composites have emerged as an attractive heterogeneous photocatalyst that can enhance the photocatalytic activity of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles owing to their potential interaction of electronic and adsorption natures. Accordingly, $TiO_2$-GO mixtures were synthesized in this study using a simple chemical mixing process, and their heterogeneous photocatalytic activities were investigated to determine the degradation of airborne organic pollutants (benzene, ethyl benzene, and o-xylene (BEX)) under different operational conditions. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results demonstrated the presence of GO for the $TiO_2$-GO composites. The average efficiencies of the $TiO_2$-GO mixtures for the decomposition of each component of BEX determined during the 3-h photocatalytic processes were 26%, 92%, and 96%, respectively, whereas the average efficiencies of the unmodified $TiO_2$ powder were 3%, 8%, and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, the degradation efficiency of the unmodified $TiO_2$ powder for all target compounds decreased during the 3-h photocatalytic processes, suggesting a potential deactivation even during such a short time period. Two operational conditions (air flow entering into the air-cleaning devices and the indoor pollution levels) were found to be important factors for the photocatalytic decomposition of BEX molecules. Taken together, these results show that a $TiO_2$-GO mixture can be applied effectively for the purification of airborne organic pollutants when the operating conditions are optimized.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.316-321
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• 2018

Composites of P25 $TiO_2$ and hexagonal $WO_3$ nanorods are synthesized through ball-milling in order to study photocatalytic properties. Various composites of $TiO_2/WO_3$ are prepared by controlling the weight percentages (wt%) of $WO_3$, in the range of 1-30 wt%, and milling time to investigate the effects of the composition ratio on the photocatalytic properties. Scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy are performed to characterize the structure, shape and size of the synthesized composites of $TiO_2/WO_3$. Methylene blue is used as a test dye to analyze the photocatalytic properties of the synthesized composite material. The photocatalytic activity shows that the decomposition efficiency of the dye due to the photocatalytic effect is the highest in the $TiO_2/WO_3$ (3 wt%) composite, and the catalytic efficiency decreases sharply when the amount of $WO_3$ is further increased. As the amount of $WO_3$ added increases, dye-removal by adsorption occurs during centrifugation, instead of the decomposition of dyes by photocatalysts. Finally, $TiO_2/WO_3$ (3 wt%) composites are synthesized with various milling times. Experimental results show that the milling time has the best catalytic efficiency at 30 min, after which it gradually decreases. There is no significant change after 1 hour.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.330-335
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• 2014

Niobium pentoxide ($Nb_2O_5$) nanoparticles were synthesized using niobium (V) chloride and pluronic F108NF as the precursor and templating agent, respectively. The $Nb_2O_5$-graphene nanocomposites were placed in an electric furnace at $700^{\circ}C$ and calcined under Ar atmosphere for 2 h. The morphology, crystallinity, and photocatalytic degradation activity of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The $Nb_2O_5$-graphene nanocomposites acted as a photocatalyst in the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes under 254 nm UV light; the organic dyes used were methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RhB), and brilliant green (BG). The photocatalytic degradation kinetics for the aforesaid dyes were determined in the presence of the $Nb_2O_5$-graphene nanocomposites.