Ultrasound assisted sol-gel TiO2 powders and thin films for photocatalytic removal of toxic pollutants

The paper presents a study on the structural, surface and photocatalytic properties of the ultrasound assisted sol-gel titanium dioxide particles, as part of stable photocatalytic ink formulations deposited on fabrics. The photocatalytic activity was validated using methylene blue as reference pollutant, under UV, VIS and combined UV+VIS radiation and allowed selecting the optimum TiO2 samples for inks preparation. To minimize the particles agglomeration stabilizing agents were added and the stability was quantitatively evaluated considering the relative increase in the VIS transmittance for a pre-set period of 30 min. Further on, the ink(s) were deposited by cold spraying on cotton woven fabrics and a removal efficiency higher than 95% was observed in the degradation of the highly toxic mustard gas, after 30 min of UV irradiation.