Effect of heat treatment on adsorption performance and photocatalytic activity of TiO2-mounted activated carbon cloths

Photoactive TiO2 was homogeneously mounted on PAN-based activated carbon cloths (ACCs) by a process of dip-coating and subsequent annealing in nitrogen atmosphere. The crystallinity of TiO2 and pore structure of hybrids was characterized by XRD and N2 adsorption. The adsorption and photocatalytic activity for TiO2-mounted ACC towards methylene blue (MB) solution was investigated. The results showed that the coating of TiO2 gel resulted in a marked decrease in specific surface area and pore volume from the pristine ACC, which was recovered gradually with increasing treatment temperature. Besides crystallinity of TiO2 can be modified by heat treatment, its pore structure can be postulated by adding different amount of polyethylene glycol (PEG). Both pore structure of hybrids and crystallinity of TiO2 as well as the carbon residue produced by PEG pyrolysis had effects on their adsorptive and photocatalytic performances of TiO2-mounted ACCs. It would be a promising technology to integrate adsorption and photocatalysis for TiO2-mounted ACCs.