Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of carbon nanotubes/titanium dioxide composites with enhanced photoelectro-catalytic activity

PHYS 714

Bin Gao1, Chuang Peng2, George Z. Chen, george.chen@nottingham.ac.uk2, and Gianluca Li Puma, gianluca.li.puma@nottingham.ac.uk1. (1) Photocatalysis & Photoreaction Engineering, School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom, (2) Electrochemical Technologies (george.chen@nottingham.ac.uk), School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
In this work, we present the feasibility of a modified sol-gel approach for coating a uniform and well-defined nanometer-scale, mesoporous, anatase titania layer (5~10 nm thick) on individual CNT (multi-walled), and demonstrate that the photo-electro-catalytic performance of this CNT/TiO2 composite, in the degradation of organic substrates, is enhanced by synergistic effects that take place on such coated CNT under anodic potentials. The materials were characterized by TEM, FESEM, XRD, BET, EDX and TGA-DSC. The increase in the degradation rates with the nanocomposite was attributed to the presence of a porous conductive structure which favours electron-hole separation and the removal of photogenerated electrons from the TiO2 nanolayers.

Reference: Gao, et al, Synergistic Effects in Carbon Nanotubes/Titanium Dioxide (CNT/TiO2) Composites with Enhanced Photo-Electro-Catalytic Activity, Chem. Comm. Submitted.

Acknowledgements: Nottingham University (Roberts Money), NATO (CBP.EAP.SFPP982835) for financial support. Yuxin Zhang and Prof. Huachun Zeng, NUS, Singapore for catalyst synthesis and microscopy.

 

Nanostructured Materials
1:20 PM-5:00 PM, Thursday, April 10, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. 338, Oral

Division of Physical Chemistry

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008