| Summary: | Immobilized TiO2 was prepared by adding a small composition of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a binder, and this paper reported for the very first time the formation of C=O from oxidized PEG, which acted as an electron injector in enhancing photoactivity. Water-based TiO2 with PEG formulation was deposited by using a brush technique onto double-sided adhesive tape (DSAT) as a support binder to increase the adhesiveness of immobilized TiO2. The photocatalytic activity of immobilized TiO2-PEG was measured by photodegradation of 12 mgL(-1) methylene blue (MB) dye. The optimum condition of immobilized TiO2-PEG was observed at TiO2/PEG-2 (TP2) with 10:0.1 for the TiO2/PEG ratio, which resulted in a 1.8-times higher photodegradation rate as compared to the suspension mode of pristine TiO2. The high photodegradation rate was due to the formation of the active C=O bond from oxidized PEG binder in immobilized TiO2-PEG as observed by Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The presence of C=O has escalated the photoactivity by forming an electron injector to a conduction band of TiO2 as proven by higher photoluminescence intensity obtained for TP2 as compared to pristine TiO2. The TP2 sample has also increased its adhesiveness when DSAT is applied as a support binder where it can be recycled up to eight times and comparable to recent photocatalysis cycle developments.
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