NANOSTRUCTURED FILM BASED ON TITANIUM DIOXIDE
Authors: LIDIJA ĆURKOVIĆ, DAVOR LJUBAS, HRVOJE JURETIĆ
Faculty: Sveučilište u Zagrebu Fakultet strojarstva i brodogradnje
Country: Croatia
e-mail: lidija.curkovic@fsb.hr , davor.ljubas@fsb.hr , hrvoje.juretić@fsb.hr
The proposed innovation refers to the process of preparing a nanostructured photocatalyst based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) by the sol-gel process. As a photocatalyst, TiO2 is most often used in the form of nano powder. The main disadvantage of this technology is the difficult separation of photocatalyst nanoparticles after use in the water purification process, and thus the possibility of its reuse. The specificity of the proposed innovation is the solution to this problem by immobilizing TiO2 in the form of a thin, hard ceramic coating, i.e. a film on the inert substrate of the sol-gel reactor by immersion.
The thin TiO2 ceramic sol-gel coating is homogeneous, has a low price, high hardness, good chemical stability and wide application.
The prepared TiO2 film, even after more than 100 working hours of exposure to intensive mixing and elevated and reduced temperatures, shows a stable photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of an aqueous solution of the textile dye Congo red with the application of UV-A and UV-C radiation. At the same time, the mechanical stability of the ceramic film is maintained.
