Photocatalytic performance of TiO2–zeolite templated carbon composites in organic contaminant degradation†
Abstract
TiO2 composites with zeolite templated carbon (TiO2–ZTC) and activated carbon (TiO2–AC) were prepared and used as the photocatalysts for comparative studies with pure TiO2. TiO2–ZTC exhibited the highest rate of methylene blue degradation with a rate approximately 4 and 400 times higher than those of TiO2–AC and pure TiO2, respectively. Moreover, the highest catalytic performance of TiO2–ZTC in gas-phase degradation of acetone was approximately 1.1 and 12.9 times higher than TiO2–AC and pure TiO2, respectively. These outstanding performances could be attributed to high surface area, pore volume, and hydrophobic surface properties, leading to improvement in the adsorption properties of organic molecules.