Photocatalytic activity of oxide coatings on fired clay substrates

The coating of fired clay substrates with various metal oxides, such as anatase, rutile, zinc oxide and tin oxide was achieved using a simple spraying technique followed by a thermal treatment. The photocatalytic activity of the layer was characterized through measurement of the absorption spectrum, in the range 400–800 nm, of methylene blue deposited on top of the coating. Results show that the presence of anatase enhances the degradation of methylene blue when it is exposed to ultraviolet light. Thermal treatment at 1050 °C transforms anatase crystals into thermodynamically stable rutile. This results in a decrease of the photocatalytic activity, which can be explained by increase of the grain size and by a difference in the crystal structure. Measurements of the photocatalytic activity of ZnO and SnO2 show that these two oxides also exhibit photocatalytic properties. In particular, ZnO is a promising alternative material to anatase.