Preparation of photocatalytic TiO2 coatings of nanosized particles on activated carbon by AP-MOCVD

Anatase TiO2 coatings on highly porous activated carbon were prepared by a novel method-atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (AP-MOCVD). At a source temperature of 423 K, the TiO2 particles were mostly coated on the external surface of activated carbon. These particles were well dispersed with their sizes ranging from 10 to 50 nm. The optimum loading of TiO2 was found to be 12 wt%. The TiO2 photocatalysts so prepared behave similarly to that of the pure commercial TiO2 powder. The activated carbon supported TiO2 catalyst could be easily separated from the treated water with its catalytic performance maintained even after 10 cycles, indicating that the TiO2 coating was stable. It was observed that TiO2 supported on activated carbon had a high capacity to mineralize pollutants. Consequently, activated carbon supported TiO2 by AP-MOCVD is a promising photocatalyst for the photodegradation of pollutants in water.