• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.432-442
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• 2011

Anodized tubular $TiO_2$ electrodes (ATTEs) with three noticeably different lengths are prepared to determine their optimum length for the photo-driven activity in the reaction of Cr(VI) reduction and hydrogen evolution. The ATTEs with ethylene glycol have longer $TiO_2$ tubes (7-15.6 ${\mu}m$) than those with hydrfluoric acid (0.6-0.8 ${\mu}m$). These samples, which differ only in the length of the tubes, with a wall thickness of ca. 20 nm, consist mainly of an anatase crystalline phase after heat treatment at $650^{\circ}C$, since the anatase crystallites at the tube walls do not undergo transformation into rutile phase, due to the constraints imposed by the wall thickness. Among them, the medium size (ca. 8 ${\mu}m$) tubes provide the optimum conditions, irrespective of the light intensity, which is explained in terms of the correlation between the amount of photons and the adsorbed electron acceptors and their location. Photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction leads to ca. 60% reduction of Cr(VI) even under 1 sun irradiation with the medium-sized anodized $TiO_2$ tubes, but only ca. 20% with the short- and long-sized tubes. For hydrogen evolution, tubes longer than 8 ${\mu}m$ do not exhibit better performance with any light intensity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.501-509
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• 2016

In this study, a flat-type photocatalytic reactor is applied under solar irradiation for simultaneous treatment of target pollutants: reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and oxidation of EDCs (BPA, EE2, E2). An immobilized type of photocatalyst was fabricated to have self-grown nanotubes on its surface in order to overcome limitations of powdery photocatalyst. Moreover, Ti mesh form was chosen as substrate and modified to have both larger surface area and photocatalyst content. Ti mesh was anodized at 50V and $25^{\circ}C$ for 30min in the mixed electrolytes ($NH_4F-H_2O-C_2H_6O_2$) and annealed at $450^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours in ambient oxygen to have anatase structure. Surface characterization was done with SEM and XRD methodologies. Fabricated NTT was applied to water treatment, and coexisting Cr(VI) and organics (EDCs) enhanced each other's reactions by scavenging holes and electrons and thus impeding recombination. Also, several experiments were conducted outdoor under direct sunlight and it was observed that both solar-tracking and applying modified photocatalyst were proven to enhance reaction efficiency.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.92-97
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• 2004

Three methods for VOCs emissions control in indoor air are reduction at the source, ventilation between indoor and outdoor, and removal. The best alternative should be to replace highly emitting sources with sources having low emissions, but the pertinent information on VOCs is not always available from manufactures. Other ways of improving indoor air quality are needed. It is to increase the outside fresh-air flow to dilute the pollutants, but this method would generally provide only a dilution effect without destruction in residence. An ideal alternative to existing technologies would be a chemical oxidation process able to treat large volumes of slightly contaminated air at normal temperature without additional oxidant such as ozone generator and ion generator. Photocatalytic oxidation(PCO) represents such a process. It is characterized by a surface reaction assisted by light radiation inducing the formation of superoxide, hydroperoxide anions, or hydroxyl radicals, which are powerful oxidants. In comparison with other VOCs removal methods, PCO offers several advantages. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibilities for photocatalytic purification of slightly contaminated indoor air by using visible light such as flurescent visible light(FVL). In this study, a PCO of relatively concentrated benzene using common FVL lamps was investigated as batch type and total volatile organic compounds(TVOCs) using a common FVL lamp and penetrated sun light over window. The results of this study shown the possibility of TiO$_2$ photocatalyst application in the area of indoor air quality control.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2010

Methylene blue (MB) was degraded by $TiO_2$ and ZnO deposited on an activated carbon fiber (ACF) surface under UV light. The ACF/$TiO_2$ and ACF/ZnO composites were characterized by BET, SEM, XRD, and EDX. The BET surface area was related to the adsorption capacity for composites. The SEM results showed that titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are distributed on the ACF surface. The XRD results showed that the ACF/$TiO_2$ and ACF/ZnO composites contained a unique anatase structure for $TiO_2$ and a typical hexagonal phase for ZnO respectively. These EDX spectra showed the presence of peaks of Ti element on ACF/$TiO_2$ composite and peaks of Zn element on the ACF/ZnO composite. The blank experiments for either illuminating the MB solution or the suspension containing ACF/$TiO_2$ or ACF/ZnO in the dark showed that both illumination and the catalyst were necessary for the mineralization of organic dye. Additionally, the ACF/$TiO_2$ composites proved to be efficient photocatalysts due to degradation of MB at higher reaction rates. The addition of an oxidant $([NH_4]_2S_2O_8)$ led to an increase of the degradation rate of MB for ACF/$TiO_2$ and ACF/ZnO composites.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.375-382
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• 2010

A layered perovskite photocatalysts, $SrBi_2Nb_2O_9$ (SBN), was synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-visble spectrophotometry. The results showed that the structure of $SrBi_2Nb_2O_9$ is orthorhombic. Diffuse reflectance spectra for calcined and attrition-milled SBN showed the main absorption edges were less 400 nm, that is ultraviolet region. SBN under micron-sized powder was deposited on the $Al_2O_3$ by room temperature powder spray in vacuum process, so called aerosol deposition (AD), and nano-grained $SrBi_2Nb_2O_9$ photocatalytic thick film was fabricated. AD-deposited SBN thick films were characterized by XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-visable spectrophotometry, Moreover, it was found that several nano-sized SBN film by AD process can improve the photocatalytic activity under visable reflectance.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.297-302
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• 2013

Enhancement of photocatalytic activity of UV/photocatalysis was carried out to oxidize the gaseous $H_2S$ in a tubular reactor coated with photocatalyst of sol type $TiO_2$. EtOH was used as the standard material to select the photocatalyst, and it was confirmed that the reactor activity was dependent on the coated surface characteristics. The selected photocatalytic reactor, which coated with STS-01, showed about 80% conversion when the gas linear velocity was 0.01 m/s and relative humidity was 40%. However, the conversion level of the reaction decreased significantly with increasing gas linear velocity. Pt was loaded on the photocatalyst to enhance and maintain the performance of the reactor, which enhanced the conversion level of $H_2S$ more than 95% under the same experimental condition.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.353-366
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• 2021

In this study, photocatalytic degradation of ammonia in petrochemical wastewater is investigated by solar light photocatalysis. Two-dimensional ultra-thin atomic layer structured MoS₂ are synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method. We examine all prepared samples by means of physical techniques, such as SEM-EDX, HRTEM, FT-IR, BET, XRD, XPS, DRS and PL. And, we use fullerene modified MoS₂ nanosheets to enhance the activity of photochemically generated oxygen (PGO) species. Surface area and pore volumes of the MoS₂-fullerene samples significantly increase due to the existence of MoS₂. And, PGO oxidation of MB, TBA and TMST, causing its concentration in aqueous solution to decrease, is confirmed by the results of PL. The generation of reactive oxygen species is detected through the oxidation reaction from 1,5-diphenyl carbazide (DPCI) to 1,5-diphenyl carbazone (DPCO). It is found that the photocurrent density and the PGO effect increase in the case with modified fullerene. The experimental results show that this heterogeneous catalyst has a degradation of 88.43% achieved through visible light irradiation. The product for the degradation of NH₃ is identified as N₂, but not NO^2- or NO^3-.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.234-241
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• 2009

In this study, CNT/$TiO_2$ composites derived from various titanium alkoxides and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized and characterized. Surface areas and pore volumes of the CNT/$TiO_2$ samples showed catastrophic decrease due to deposition of titanium compounds. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicated that the MWCNTs were homogenously decorated and well-dispersed onto/into the composites without apparent agglomeration of $TiO_2$ particles. In the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, peaks of anatase and rutile phase were observed. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectra revealed the presence of major elements such as C and O with strong Ti peaks. According to the photocatalytic results, MB removal by a treatment with CNT/$TiO_2$ composites seems to have an excellent removal effect as order of CTIP, CTNB and CTPP composites due to a photolysis of the supported $TiO_2$, the radical reaction and the adsorptivity and absorptivity of the MWCNTs.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2011

Photocatalysis is a photochemical catalytic reaction which is a highly promising tool for the environmental cleanup process. It is very effective in treatment of environmental pollutants by its unique redox property. It has wide applications in the treatment of atmospheric pollutants (e.g., nitrogen dioxide, trichloroethylene, volatile organics, hydrogen sulfide, benzene, etc) through oxidative removal and by disinfection (aeromicro flora). In this research, the fundamental aspects of photocatalysis are described with respect to the composition of catalysts, experimental conditions (e.g., temperature, duration, etc), and interfering factors (e.g., catalyst deactivation).