Enhanced photocatalytic oxidation properties in Pt-TiO2 thin films by grounding

The rates of formaldehyde and toluene photocatalytic oxidation with different initial concentrations over a Pt-TiO2 film were analyzed at both the grounded and non-grounded states. The photocatalytic oxidation rates at the grounded states were faster than in the non-grounded states under similar reaction conditions. The enhanced photocatalytic oxidation rates in the grounded state were attributed to the effective splitting of the electron-hole pairs as a result of the scavenging of photoexcited electrons through the ITO (indium fin oxide) glass to earth. The pseudo first order model showed good agreement with the experimentally obtained heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation rates of formaldehyde and toluene.