Fluorinated TiO2 coupling with α-MnO2 nanowires supported on different substrates for photocatalytic VOCs abatement under vacuum ultraviolet irradiation

The particular role of fluorine (F) doping in the photocatalytic activity of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2) towards toluene degradation was systematically studied. TiO2 nanosheet catalysts doped with different amounts of F- (denoted by F-TiO2) were synthesized by hydrothermal method. For comparison, calcination was performed on the catalyst to remove F-.. The photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of toluene over F-TiO2 was found to be much higher than those of TiO2 and commercial P25 under the irradiation of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light, with a high toluene degradation efficiency of about 90 %. Moreover, the toluene degradation efficiency increased to 96 % with the addition of only 1 wt% alpha-MnO2 nanowires, and the residual ozone (O-3) in the system can be completely eliminated. In addition, four different substrates were explored for catalyst coating to facilitate the operation and minimize catalyst loading, which can provide a promising strategy for practical volatile organic compounds (VOCs) abatement in industrial applications.

Automated summary

The study systematically investigates the role of fluorine doping in the photocatalytic activity of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2), finding that F-TiO2 catalysts exhibit significantly higher toluene degradation efficiency compared to TiO2 and commercial P25 under VUV irradiation. Furthermore, the addition of a small amount of α-MnO2 increases the toluene degradation efficiency to 96% and eliminates residual O3, offering a promising strategy for VOCs abatement in industrial applications through the exploration of different substrates for catalyst coating.