title: Carbon-modified TiO2 for photocatalysis.
abstract: Here we present a method to produce TiO2 nanocrystals coated by thin layer of graphitic carbon. The coating process was prepared via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with acetylene used as a carbon feedstock with TiO2 used as a substrate. Different temperatures (400°C and 500°C) and times (10, 20, and 60 s) of reaction were explored. The prepared nanocomposites were investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy/diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and ultraviolet-vis (UV-vis)/diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Furthermore, photocatalytic activity of the materials was investigated under visible and UV-vis light irradiation in the process of phenol decomposition. It was found that TiO2 modification with carbon resulted in a significant increase of photoactivity under visible irradiation and decrease under UV-vis light irradiation. Interestingly, a shorter CVD time and higher process temperature resulted in the preparation of the samples exhibiting higher activity in the photocatalytic process under visible light irradiation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemical and Environment Engineering, Westpomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Pulaskiego 10, Szczecin, 70-322, Poland. emijowska@zut.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wojtoniszak
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dolat
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morawski
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mijowska