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Photocatalytic activity of electrophoretically deposited (EPD) TiO2 coatings

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Abstract

This paper describes the application of electrophoretic deposition for air pollution removal using anatase as a photoactive coating. In this study, the anatase form of TiO2 has been applied to (1) fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass; (2) 304L stainless steel; and (3) titanium substrates using isopropanol and acetylacetone-based solutions at 20, 40, 60 and 80 V. In order to increase the strength of the substrate–anatase interface without transforming the phase into rutile, samples were calcined at 450 °C for 2 h. The resulting coatings were characterised by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, non-contact optical profilometry and scanning electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the deposited coatings were evaluated in the gas phase for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) removal by electron ionisation mass spectrometry, whilst irradiated by light of wavelength 376–387 nm for 100 min. Anatase phase titania supported on a FTO-coated glass substrate showed the highest photoactivity for NO2 remediation. This was attributed to the formation of a three-dimensional nanostructure with properties determined by the deposition conditions. This work provides routes for the development of low-cost and large area photoactive coatings for pollution control.

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Abbreviations

a.m.u.:

Atomic mass unit

FTO:

Fluorine doped tin oxide

CH4 :

Methane

NOx :

Nitrogen oxide

UVA:

Ultraviolet-A

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the University of Bath research studentship and instrumentation funding from the Royal Society, Research grant RG110024. Thanks are also due to Professor W. N. Wang (University of Bath) for supplying the LEDs and Dr. Subhayan Biswas from LMNIIT Jaipur (India) for providing electrophoretic coating facilities. In addition, the authors wish to acknowledge the help of Guy Tolley and Keyence for images taken on the VHX-5000 Digital optical microscope. Thanks are also due to the UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI-II) coordinated by the British Council, New Delhi, India, for financial support through a thematic partnership.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Bath, ClavertonDown, BA2 7AY, UK

    Manuel Nuño & Richard J. Ball

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, ClavertonDown, BA2 7AY, UK

    Chris R. Bowen

  3. Department of Physics, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal, 462051, Madhya Pradesh, India

    Rajnish Kurchania

  4. Jaipur Engineering College (JEC), Jaipur, 303101, Rajasthan, India

    G. D. Sharma

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  1. Manuel Nuño
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  2. Richard J. Ball
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Correspondence to Richard J. Ball.

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Nuño, M., Ball, R.J., Bowen, C.R. et al. Photocatalytic activity of electrophoretically deposited (EPD) TiO2 coatings. J Mater Sci 50, 4822–4835 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9022-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9022-0

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