Preparation and performance of photocatalytic regenerationable activated carbon prepared via sol-gel TiO_2

Article type: Research Article

Authors: LIU, Shou-xin^; | SUN, Cheng-lin

Affiliations: College of Material Science and Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China | Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, China

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: liushouxin@126.com

Abstract: Preparation ofphotocatalytic regenerationable activated carbon (AC) is the key step for the practical application of in situ regeneration of exhausted AC. A novel photocatalytic regenerationable AC was prepared by sol-gel TiO_2 in this work. The adsorption and regeneration performance of TiO_2/AC were evaluated using phenol as model compound. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and nitrogen (77 K) adsorption isotherm were used to determine the surface area, pore structure and the distribution of TiO_2. The results showed that with the increase of TiO_2 loading, adsorption capacity of TiO_2/AC decreased and the regeneration efficiency increased. The photocatalytic regenerationable AC with suitable TiO_2 loading (2 wt%) exhibited suitable adsorption capacity and regeneration efficiency. TiO_2 located mainly in the entrance of macro-pore of carbon. The prepared TiO_2/AC exhibited similar surface structure and pore structure with material carbon.

Keywords: photocatalytic regenerationable, activated carbon, titanium dioxide

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 557-561, 2006