Synthesis of TiO2 on different substrates by chemical vapor deposition for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) in water

TiO2 loaded on several substrates such as carbon fiber, aluminum plate, silica plate, and glass plate was prepared using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) in water with the presence of ethanol under Ultraviolet (UV) illumination. As-prepared samples were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The catalyst with TiO2 loaded on carbon fiber possessed an extremely large surface area (1,463,91 m(2)/g), while the other catalysts possessed small surface areas (0.05-0.21m(2)/g). The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 loaded on carbon fiber, which was determined by the conversion of Cr(VI) and the degradation of chemical oxygen demand (COD), was much higher than that of other catalysts. The reusability of TiO2 loaded on carbon fiber catalyst exhibited almost the same activity as the fresh catalyst. The results indicated that TiO2 loaded on carbon fiber is feasible for practical application.