Publications Repository - Gdańsk University of Technology

To investigate the effect of the ionic liquid (IL) chain length on the surface properties and photoactivity of TiO2, a series of TiO2 microspheres have been synthesized via a solvothermal method assisted by 1-methyl-3-octadecylimidazolium chloride ([ODMIM][Cl]) and 1-methyl-3-tetradecylimidazolium chloride ([TDMIM][Cl]). All as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning transmission microscopy (STEM) and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area method, whereas the photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The highest photoefficiency (four times higher than pristine TiO2) was observed for the TiO2 sample obtained in the presence of [TDMIM][Cl] for IL to TiO2 precursor molar ratio of 1:3. It was revealed that interactions between the ions of the ionic liquid and the surface of the growing titanium dioxide spheres results in a red-shift of absorption edge for the IL–TiO2 semiconductors. In this regard, the direct increase of the photoactivity of IL–TiO2 in comparison to pristine TiO2 was observed. The active species trapping experiments indicated that O2•− is the main active species, created at the surface of the IL–TiO2 material under visible-light illumination, and is responsible for the effective phenol degradation.

Authors

• Anna Gołąbiewska,
• mgr. Marta Paszkiewicz-Gawron,
• Aleksandra Sadzińska link open in new tab ,
• dr hab. Wojciech Lisowski,
• Dr. Ewelina Grabowska,
• prof. dr hab. inż. Adriana Zaleska-Medynska link open in new tab ,
• dr hab. inż. Justyna Łuczak link open in new tab ,
• Anna Golabiewska link open in new tab