Silver deposited titanium dioxide thin film for photocatalysis of organic compounds using natural light

Autor: Mark N. Goltz, Huiying Jia, Lei L. Kerr, Dhriti Nepal, Prakash Swarnakar, Sushil R. Kanel, John Rakovan, Jonathan I. Levy, Yuntong Jiang
Rok vydání: 2013
Předmět:
Zdroj: Solar Energy. 88:242-249
ISSN: 0038-092X
DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2012.10.014
Popis: Developing a low-energy, efficient water treatment technology is a critical need. We fabricated nano-TiO 2 coated films on glass substrates using the doctor-blade procedure and modified the film surfaces with silver (Ag). The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry. We compared the catalytic activity of silver modified nanoparticle TiO 2 (Ag–TiO 2 ) and unmodified nanoparticle TiO 2 thin films towards photo-degradation of methyl orange (MO) under illumination of natural sunlight. When using the films for the first time, the degradation rate of MO was ∼18% greater in the presence of the Ag–TiO 2 film than with the unmodified TiO 2 film. A control showed negligible degradation of MO in the absence of a TiO 2 film. The catalytic activity of the TiO 2 films and their ability to degrade MO in batch experiments did not change significantly with repeated experiments. There was weak evidence that the degradation efficiency of the Ag–TiO 2 films did decrease with repeated uses, but the decrease was small. This study demonstrates the potential of a novel application of silver modified and unmodified nano-TiO 2 films to efficiently treat dissolved organic contaminants in water in the presence of sunlight.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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