Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene by using TiO2 nanoparticles immobilized on fiberglass cloth

Photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide have been exploited for various purposes, including the photocatalytic purification of air, where an immobilized catalyst is preferred over a dispersed one as it has much higher application value. In this work, we have investigated the photocatalytic degradation of toluene on titania nanoparticles immobilized on fiberglass cloth. The progress of the reaction was monitored using a self-constructed photoreactor equipped with UVA lamps. Commercially available P25 and PC500 powder catalysts were successfully immobilized on fiberglass cloth by a sol suspension procedure. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The highest photocatalytic degradation performance was obtained for the PC500 catalyst followed by a 1:1 mixture of P25 and PC500 and the lowest performance was observed in case of the P25 immobilized catalyst. The highest degradation rate of PC500 can be ascribed to its smallest particle size and highest surface area in comparison to others. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.