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Enhancement of TiO2 photocatalytic activity by structuring the photocatalyst film as photonic sponge

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Journal article

E. Carbonell, F. Ramiro-Manzano, I. Rodriguez, A. Corma, F. Meseguer and H. Garcia

Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. Volume 7 931-935 2008

Abstract

A TiO2 film having "photonic sponge" architecture (ps-TiO2) has been prepared using titania Degussa P25 nanoparticles that have been infiltrated into a template obtained through the arrangement of a mixture of different size latex spheres. The resulting photonic sponge exhibits 3.3 fold higher initial photocatalytic degradation rate for succinonitrile disappearance than analogous films of the same thickness made of unstructured P25 TiO2 nanoparticles. When corrected for the three fold lower mass of the ps-TiO2 films with respect to more dense P25, the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity by the photonic sponge morphology for the same mass of photocatalyst is about one order of magnitude. It was also observed that films of photonic sponge of 3 micrometres depth are more efficient than thicker films (5 and 7 micrometres).

How to cite

Initials first

E. Carbonell, F. Ramiro-Manzano, I. Rodriguez, A. Corma, F. Meseguer and H. Garcia. Enhancement of TiO2 photocatalytic activity by structuring the photocatalyst film as photonic sponge. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008). DOI: 10.1039/B801954A.

Family name first

Carbonell, E., Ramiro-Manzano, F., Rodriguez, I., Corma, A., Meseguer, F., & Garcia, H. (2008). Enhancement of TiO2 photocatalytic activity by structuring the photocatalyst film as photonic sponge. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, 7, 931-935. https://doi.org/10.1039/B801954A

Article access and reuse

The published article is available from the Royal Society of Chemistry. RSC authors may reuse their own figures, diagrams, tables and images without a formal permission request when the material is fully acknowledged. The six figures and two schemes below were extracted as complete compositions from the local article PDF without enlargement.

Figures

Scheme 1. Process for the preparation of photonic sponges.

From E. Carbonell et al., Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008), DOI 10.1039/B801954A. Reproduced by the authors under RSC author reuse rights.

Figure 1. SEM image of a cross section of a ps-TiO2 sample showing its porous structure.

From E. Carbonell et al., Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008), DOI 10.1039/B801954A. Reproduced by the authors under RSC author reuse rights.

Figure 2. Diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectra of P25-3 and ps-TiO2-3 samples.

From E. Carbonell et al., Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008), DOI 10.1039/B801954A. Reproduced by the authors under RSC author reuse rights.

Figure 3. IR spectrum of a ps-TiO2-5 film containing succinonitrile.

From E. Carbonell et al., Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008), DOI 10.1039/B801954A. Reproduced by the authors under RSC author reuse rights.

Figure 4. Series of IR spectra recorded at increasing irradiation times during succinonitrile photodegradation.

From E. Carbonell et al., Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008), DOI 10.1039/B801954A. Reproduced by the authors under RSC author reuse rights.

Figure 5. Time-photodegradation plots for ps-TiO2 films as a function of film thickness.

From E. Carbonell et al., Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008), DOI 10.1039/B801954A. Reproduced by the authors under RSC author reuse rights.

Figure 6. Time-photodegradation plots for P25 films as a function of film thickness.

From E. Carbonell et al., Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008), DOI 10.1039/B801954A. Reproduced by the authors under RSC author reuse rights.

Scheme 2. Cross sections of thin and thick films illustrating inefficient irradiation when the film is too thick.

From E. Carbonell et al., Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 7, 931-935 (2008), DOI 10.1039/B801954A. Reproduced by the authors under RSC author reuse rights.

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