Preparation and characterization of in-site regenerated TiO₂-ACFs photocatalyst

In-site regenerated titanium dioxide-activated carbon fibers (TiO₂-ACFs) photocatalyst was prepared by the sol-gel method. Detailed surface and structural characterization of the TiO₂-ACFs photocatalyst was carried out. The photoactivity of TiO₂-ACFs under ultraviolet irradiation was compared with original ACFs and pure TiO₂ by the degradation of methylene blue aqueous solution. The degradation efficiency by the TiO₂ (5wt%)-ACFs sample is much higher than that by TiO₂ and ACFs. The results show that the photocatalysis by TiO₂-ACFs is a six-step process. The adsorption-transfer-photocatalysis rate of TiO₂-ACFs is higher than the adsorption-photocatalysis rate of TiO₂, so the photocatalysis rate of the TiO₂-ACFs system is higher than that of TiO₂ photocatalyst.