Adsorption and photocatalytic decomposition of organic molecules on carbon-coated TiO2

Carbon-coated anatase TiO2 samples were prepared from the mixture of poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and commercial TiO2 (P-25) with different mass ratios and heating temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDX), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and nitrogen adsorption analyses. The adsorption properties and photocatalytic activity of commercial and carboncoated TiO2 catalysts were compared for the oxidation of methylene blue (MB) and bisphenol-A (BPA). It was interesting to find that the transition from anatase to rutile was suppressed by carbon coating of TiO2 at high temperature up to 800 C. The carbon-coated TiO2 samples have a higher surface area and a greater adsorption amount than commercial P-25 because of the thin layer of carbon that covered TiO2. It was also observed that the photodecomposition efficiency was dependent on the crystallinity of the carbon-coated sample