Preparation and characterization of high-surface-area TiO2/activated carbon by low-temperature impregnation

A new method, low-temperature impregnation, was developed to prepare hybrid photocatalyst: TiO2 coated activated carbon (TiO2/AC). The hybrid photocatalyst included 7.7 wt% TiO2 with anatase phase. Its specific surface area was 1483 m(2)/g, and the bandgap of the TiO2 in the TiO2/AC was about 3.23 eV. The hybrid photocatalyst showed high photocatalytic performance evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue. The photodegradation process was discussed in terms of absorption of methylene blue molecules by the nanopores, transportation of methylene blue molecules to active sites, and then photodegradation with TiO2. The low-temperature impregnation proved to be an effective method for loading TiO2. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.