Synthesis of carbon-doped photocatalytic TiO2 nano-powders by AFD process

Carbon-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) nano-powders were synthesized by the aerosol flame deposition (AFD) process using 2-butanol liquid sol containing 20 wt% of titanium isopropoxide (TTIP). They were mesoporous nano-powders with particle size ranging from 20 to 40 nm, the specific surface area of 36 m2/g, and the pore size of 19 nm. They had the anatase structure and showed high photocatalytic activity not only under UV-A light but also under fluorescent light. They reduced the concentration of methylene blue (MB) from 5.0 to 1.5 ppm within 2 h under UV-A light and from 5.0 to 2.0 ppm within 4 h under fluorescent light. And, they killed 99% of Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells within 2 h and bacterial growth of the E. coli was not observed for 12 h under both UV-A and fluorescent lights.