• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2009

In this study, we have prepared three kinds of carbon nanometer tube $CNT/TiO_{2}$ electrodes through impregnation with different concentration titanium n-butoxide (TNB) solution. The prepared electrodes were characterized with surface properties, structural crystallinity, elemental identification and photoelectrocatalytic activity. The $N_2$ adsorption data showed that the composites had decreased surface area compared with the pristine CNT. This indicated the blocking of micropores on the surface of CNT, which was further supported by observation via SEM. XRD results showed patterns for the composites and a typical single and clear anatase crystal structure. The main elements such as C, O and Ti were existed for all samples from the EDX data. The catalytic efficiency of the developed electrode was evaluated by the photoelectrodegradation of methylene blue (MB). The positive potential applied in photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) oxidation was studied. It was found that photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) decomposition of MB solution could be attributed to combination effects between $TiO_2$ photocatalytic and CNT electro-assisted. Through the comparison between photocatalytic (PC) oxidation and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) oxidation, it was found that the PEC oxidation efficiency for MB is higher than that of PC oxidation.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.226-232
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• 2008

A feasibility study for the application of the photoelectrocatalytic decolorization of Rhodamine B (RhB) was performed in a photoelectrochemical reactor with immobilized $TiO_2$ particle. The effects of operating conditions, such as current, electrolyte and pH were evaluated. The experimental results showed that optimum $TiO_2$ dosage and current in the photoelectrocatalytic process were 83.3 g/l and 0.5 A, respectively. It was found that the RhB could be degraded more efficiently by this photoelectrocatalytic process than the sum of the two individual oxidation processes (photocatalytic and electrolytic process). The addition of NaCl increased the initial decolorization rate and reduced reaction time. The optimum dosage of NaCl was 0.15 g/l. The decolorization rate of the photoelectrocatalytic process increased sharply with a decrease in pH value. However when the NaCl was added, the pH effect was not high.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.583-591
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• 2008

In this study, two series of CNT/$TiO_2$ electrodes were prepared. The decrease of surface area compared with that of the pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) indicated the blocking of micropores on the surface of the CNTs; was further supported by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and field emission SEM (FE-SEM) observations. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that the CNT/$TiO_2$ composites contained a mix of anatase and rutile forms of $TiO_2$ particles when the precursor was $TiO_2$ powder, whereas when the precursor was Ti ($OC_4H_7$) (TNB), the composites contained only the typical single and clear anatase $TiO_2$ particles. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectra showed the presence of C, O and Ti peaks for all samples. It was found that catalytic decomposition of methylene blue (MB) solution could be attributed to synthetic effects between the $TiO_2$ photocatalysis and electro-assisted CNTs network, and that photoelectrocatalytic oxidation increased with an increase of CNT composition. It was also found that the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation efficiency for MB is higher than that of photocatalytic oxidation. Moreover, the CNT/$TiO_2$ composites catalyst prepared by the impregnation method demonstrates higher photoelectrocatalytic activity than the mechanical mixture with the same CNT content.