Abstract
The structure, composition and photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 nanoparticles annealed in various gas atmospheres (N 2, NH 3 and H 2) were studied in this work. The effect of treatment on crystal structure, particle size, chemical composition and optical absorbance were assessed by means of x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffuse optical reflectance/transmittance measurements, respectively. Photocatalytic properties of the materials were evaluated by three different methods: degradation of methyl orange in water, killing of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and photogeneration of radicals in the presence of 3-carboxy-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl pyrrolidine-1-oxyl (PCA) marker molecules. The results indicate that the correlation between pretreatment and the photocatalytic performance depends on the photocatalytic processes and cannot be generalized.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 475711 |
Journal | Nanotechnology |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 47 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 30 Nov 2012 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |