Effect of void structure of photocatalyst paper on VOC decomposition [An article from: Chemosphere]

This digital document is a journal article from Chemosphere, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
TiO"2 powder-containing paper composites, called TiO"2 paper, were prepared by a papermaking technique, and their photocatalytic efficiency was investigated. The TiO"2 paper has a porous structure originating from the layered pulp fiber network, with TiO"2 powders scattered on the fiber matrix. Under UV irradiation, the TiO"2 paper decomposed gaseous acetaldehyde more effectively than powdery TiO"2 and a pulp/TiO"2 mixture not in paper form. Scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion analysis revealed that the TiO"2 paper had characteristic unique voids ca. 10@mm in diameter, which might have contributed to the improved photocatalytic performance. TiO"2 paper composites having different void structures were prepared by using beaten pulp fibers with different degrees of freeness and/or ceramic fibers. The photodecomposition efficiency was affected by the void structure of the photocatalyst paper, and the initial degradation rate of acetaldehyde increased with an increase in the total pore volume of TiO"2 paper. The paper voids presumably provided suitable conditions for TiO"2 catalysis, resulting in higher photocatalytic performance by TiO"2 paper than by TiO"2 powder and a pulp/TiO"2 mixture not in paper form.