Synthesis and characterization of TiO2/BaF2/ceramic radio-sensitive photocatalyst

Nanophase TiO2/BaF2 immobilized on micron size ceramic powder was prepared using the TiCl4 hydrolysis and EDTA chelating agent method. The photo-catalytic degradation effects for MB dye using UV and γ-radiations were investigated. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) analysis. It is shown that MB can be effectively photodecomposed using prepared composites under UV or γ-radiation. Experimental results indicated that the existence of BaF2 enhances the photoactivity of TiO2 and becomes a light source around TiO2 by converting the γ-radiation. A relevant photo-catalytic mechanism induced using ionization radiation is proposed.