engleski

The impact of multiwall carbon nanotubes on the photocatalytic properties of imobilizied TiO2

Industry development, Earth’s population growth, ever increasing need for greater pharmaceuticals production causes irreversible changes in the environment. Photocatalysis is a process that leads to complete decomposition of pharmaceuticals to non-hazardous degradation products under the influence of solar radiation in the presence of a photocatalyst. A photocatalyst, such as titanium dioxide (TiO2), is required for photocatalysis. The efficiency of using TiO2 is limited due to the high energy banned zone (3-3.2 eV) so only UV-A light, which makes up 5% of solar radiation, activates the photocatalyst. In order to overcome the problem of prohibited zones and to shift the light response threshold of TiO2 into the visible part of the spectrum, different methods can be used. One of the methods showing the potential is the use of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). In this paper a TiO2 / MWCNT composites with various concentrations of MWCNT were prepared. The concentrations of MWCNT ranged from 1.5, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 wt. % MWCNT relative to the mass of TiO2. It was observed that the concentration of MWCNT affects the photocatalytic activity of the composite obtained. Photocatalytic activity was followed by a degradation of salicylic acid, in a pilot reactor followed by UV-ViS spectrometry, as a modal solution and an example of a pharmaceuticals present in the water. The prepared catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

Photocatalysis ; TiO2 ; Multiwall carbon nanotubes

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