Effect of CMC and HPC mixture on the photocatalytic activity of Nd-TiO_2/SiO_2 film under visible light irradiation

Authors: PARVIZ ABEROOMAND, SHAHRAM MORADI, SUSAN SAMADI, MOHAMMAD SABER TEHRANI, MOHAMMAD HADI GIVIANRAD

Abstract: Neodymium-titania/silica films were prepared by the sol-gel method with the addition of various amounts of hydroxy propyl cellulose (HPC) and 5.09 \times 10^{-5} g g^{-1}_{solution} of carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) in saturated conditions. The porous Nd-TiO_2/SiO_2 was obtained after heat treatment for 2 h at 500 °C, with the surface area up to 276 m^2 g^{-1}, which was measured using the Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the particle size of Nd-TiO_2/SiO_2 decreased and the microstructure of the film became loose in suitable conditions with the addition of CMC to HPC. Subsequently, the photocatalytic activity of Nd-TiO_2/SiO_2 film under visible light irradiation was achieved to an optimum when the concentrations became 3.825 \times 10^{-3} and 5.09 \times 10^{-5}g g^{-1}_{sol.} for HPC and CMC, respectively.

Keywords: Self-cleaning, sol-gel, photocatalysis, nanocomposite

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