Acid-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of nanocrystalline TiO2 from titanate nanotubes: Influence of acids on the photodegradation of gaseous toluene
Kunyang Chen , Lizhong Zhu
,
Kun Yang
DOI:10.1016/j.jes.2014.05.044
Received February 21, 2014,Revised May 04, 2014, Accepted , Available online January 19, 2015
Volume 27,2015,Pages 232-240
In order to efficiently remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from indoor air, onedimensional titanate nanotubes (TiNTs) were hydrothermally treated to prepare TiO2 nanocrystals with different crystalline phases, shapes and sizes. The influences of various acids such as CH3COOH, HNO3, HCl, HF and H2SO4 used in the treatment were separately compared to optimize the performance of the TiO2 nanocrystals. Comparedwith the strong and corrosive inorganic acids, CH3COOH was not only safer andmore environmentally friendly, but also more efficient in promoting the photocatalytic activity of the obtained TiO2. Itwasobserved that the anatase TiO2 synthesized in 15 mol/L CH3COOH solution exhibited the highest photodegradation rate of gaseous toluene (94%), exceeding that of P25 (44%) by a factor ofmore than two. The improved photocatalytic activity was attributed to the small crystallite size and surface modification by CH3COOH. The influence of relative humidity (20%-80%) on the performance of TiO2 nanocrystals was also studied. The anatase TiO2 synthesized in 15 mol/L CH3COOH solution was more tolerant tomoisture than the other TiO2 nanocrystals and P25.
