Advanced oxidation of organic pollutants with TiO2 photocatalysts is limited due the wide bandgap of TiO2, ~3.2 eV, which requires ultraviolet (UV) radiation that constitutes only 10% of the total radiation output from the Sun. When nanosized TiO2 is modified by carbon doping, charge recombination would be inhibited and the bandgap would narrow, allowing for efficient photodegradation under visible light. In doing so, the photocatalysis by TiO2 could be a practical organic pollution treatment method. Here, we propose a flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) technique to create carbon-doped TiO2 by using graphene-rich biochar as a TiO2 support. The facile process of FSP has been successful in preparing highly crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles. Using the same procedure to deposit TiO2 onto biochar, it is expected that the photocatalyst will be doped by the carbonaceous material. The morphology, crystalline and electronic structure of the TiO2-decorated biochar (TiO2-BC) will be characterized by SEM, XRD, TGA, XPS, and diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy, which are expected to confirm the presence of carbon doping and narrowed bandgap. Photocatalytic performance of TiO2-BC will be also investigated for model organic contaminants in an aqueous solution under UV and visible light, which will be compared to that of Degussa P25 TiO2 as a control.

TiO2-decorated graphene-rich biochar prepared by flame spray pyrolysis

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.