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Nanostructured Titanium Oxide Film- And Membrane-Based Photocatalysis For Water Treatment
Citation:
Choi, H., S. R. AL-ABED, AND D. D. DIONYSIOU. Nanostructured Titanium Oxide Film- And Membrane-Based Photocatalysis For Water Treatment. Chapter 3, N. Savage, M. Diallo, J. Duncan, A. Street, and R. Sustich (ed.), Nanotechnology Applications For Clean Water. William Andrew Publishing, Norwich, NY, , 39-46, (2009).
Impact/Purpose:
To provide an overview of how the physiochemical properties of TiO2 are precisely controlled and functionalized at the nanoscale for versatile, practical, and full-scale applications.
Description:
Titanium Oxide (TiO2) photocatalysis, one of the ultraviolet (UV)-based advanced oxidation technologies (AOTs) and nanotechnologies (AONs), has attracted great attention for the development of efficient water treatment and purification systems due to the effectiveness of TiO2 in generating highly oxidizing hydroxyl radicals, which readily attack and decompose organic contaminants in water. In this chapter, we provide an overview of how the physicochemical properties of TiO2 are precisely controlled and functionalized at the nanoscale for versatile, practical, and full-scale applications. Some challenges in TiO2 photocatalysis, including enhancement of the catalytic activity, controllability of the structural properties, immobilization to form films and membranes, and narrowing of the band-gap energy, could be solved by introducing nanotechnological synthesis routes, noble material processing approaches, and new reactor design and concepts. The nanostructured TiO2 films and membranes inherently possess multiple functions under UV and even visible-light irradiation, including photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants, inactivation of microorganisms, anti-biofouling action, and physical separation of water contaminants.
