• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.483-488
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• 2017

Transition-metal oxide semiconductors have various band gaps. Therefore, many studies have been conducted in various application fields. Among these, methods for the adsorption of organic dyes and utilization of photocatalytic properties have been developed using various metal oxides. In this study, the adsorption and photocatalytic effects of $WO_3$ nanomaterials prepared by hydrothermal synthesis are investigated, with citric acid added in the hydrothermal process as a structure-directing agent. The nanostructures of $WO_3$ are studied using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images. The crystal structure is investigated using X-ray diffraction patterns, and the changes in the dye concentrations adsorbed on $WO_3$ nanorods are measured with a UV-visible absorption spectrophotometer based on Beer-Lambert's law. The methylene blue (MB) dye solution is subjected to acid or base conditions to monitor the change in the maximum adsorption amount in relation to the pH. The maximum adsorption capacity is observed at pH 3. In addition to the dye adsorption, UV irradiation is carried out to investigate the decomposition of the MB dye as a result of photocatalytic effects. Significant photocatalytic properties are observed and compared with the adsorption effects for dye removal.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.433-438
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• 2010

Fe-carbon/$TiO_2$ composites were prepared by a sol-gel method using AC, ACF, CNT and $C_{60}$ as carbon precursors and were characterized by means of BET surface area, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The activity of the prepared photocatalysts was investigated by degradation reaction of methylene blue (MB) irradiated with UV lamp. Effects of different carbon sources and irradiation time on photocatalytic activity were also investigated. The results showed that the photocatalytic activity of the Fe-carbon/$TiO_2$ composites was much higher than that of pristine $TiO_2$ and Fe/$TiO_2$ composites. The prominent photocatalytic activity of Fecarbon/$TiO_2$ composites could be attributed to both the effects of photo-adsorption and electron transfer by carbon substrate. In addition, the higher photocatalytic activity of Fe-carbon/$TiO_2$ composites can be compared with that of carbon/$TiO_2$ and Fe /$TiO_2$ composites due to cooperative effects between Fe and carbon.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.231-236
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• 2003

TiO$_2$ has been used as photocatalyst since two and half decades ago. The efficiency in its photocatalytic reactions has been improved by increasing the surface area of the photocatalyst by supporting fine TiO$_2$ particles on some porous materials. In this work, heteropolytungstic acid (HPA) - encapsulated into the titanium exchanged SBA-15 mesoporous materials (TiSBA-15) were prepared and characterized. Also their photocatalytic effects on decomposition of phenol were investigated and the photodecomposition rates of the phenol were observed to be increased by 2.5 8 fold, as compared to those observed in the presence of HPA-encapsulated SBA-15 or TiSBA-15 without HPA.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.621-626
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• 2009

Fe-AC/Ti$O_2$ photocatalysts were prepared by a sol-gel method. The photocatalytic properties of Fe-AC/Ti$O_2$ photocatalysts for the purification of water have been investigated. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), specific surface area (BET), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the photocatalytic oxidation of methylene blue (MB) solution. It was found that the prepared Fe-AC/Ti$O_2$ composites have an excellent photocatalytic under visible light irradiation. A small amount of Fe ions in the AC/Ti$O_2$ composites could obviously enhance their photocatalytic activity. The high activities of the Fe-AC/Ti$O_2$ composites could be attributed to the results of the synergetic effects of the enhancement of the Fe element, the photocatalytic activity of Ti$O_2$, and the adsorption of AC.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.E2
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• pp.35-42
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• 2001

Recent development of photocatalytic degradation method that is mediated by TiO$_2$ is of interest in the treatment of volatile organic compounds(VOCs). In this study, trichloroethylene(TCE) and acetone were closely examined in a batch scale of photo-reactor as a function of water vapor, oxygen, and temperature. Water vapor inhibited the photocatalytic degradation of acetone, while there was an optimum concentration in TCE. A lower efficiency was found in nitrogen atmosphere than air, and the effect of oxygen on photocatalytic degradation of acetone was greater than on that of TCE. The optimum reaction temperature on photocatalytic degradation was about 45$^{\circ}C$ for both compounds. NO organic byproducts were detected for both compounds under the present experimental conditions. It was ascertained that the photocatalytic reaction in a batch scale of photo-reactor was very effective in removing VOCs such as TCE and acetone in the gaseous phase.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.649-656
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• 2010

Boron-doped $TiO_2$ photocatalysts were synthesized by a modified sol-gel method and their photocatalytic activities were performed and compared with those of pure synthetic and commercial $TiO_2$ catalysts under UV or visible light conditions. Pure $TiO_2$ itself exhibited very negligible photocatalytic performance under visible light conditions in the aspects of toluene decomposition reactions, although significant decomposition potential was observed as expected with UV light conditions. However, boron doping over $TiO_2$ significantly improved photocatalytic activity particularly under visible conditions, where over 95% degradation of toluene was achieved with 1wt% $B-TiO_2$ within 2 hrs. All the decomposition reactions seemed to follow pseudo first-order kinetics. The effects of boron-doping and its characteristics are further discussed through the kinetic studies and comparison of results.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.E3
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• pp.117-124
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• 2001

The present paper examined the kinetics of photocatalytic degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including gaseous trichloroethylene (TCE) and acetone. In this study, we examined the effects of the initial concentration of VOCs and the light intensity of ultra-violet (UV). A batch photo-reactor was specifically designed for this work. The photocatalytic degradation rate increased with the initial concentration of VOCs but remained almost constant beyond a certain concentration. It matched well with the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) kinetic model. When the effect of light intensity was concerned, it was found that photocatalytic degradation occurs in two regimes with respect to light intensity.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3691-3695
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• 2012

Photocatalytic reduction of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in ferric-tartrate system under irradiation of visible light was investigated. Effects of light resources, initial pH value and initial concentration of various reactants on Cr(VI) photocatalytic reduction were studied. Photoreaction kinetics was discussed and a possible photochemical pathway was proposed. The results indicate that Fe(III)-tartrate system is able to rapidly and effectively photocatalytically reduce Cr(VI) utilizing visible light. Initial pH variations resulte in the concentration changes of Fe(III)-tartrate complex in this system, and pH at 3.0 is optimal for Cr(VI) photocatalytic reduction. Efficiency of Cr(VI) photocatalytic reduction increases with increasing initial concentrations of Cr(VI), Fe(III) and tartrate. Kinetics analysis indicates that initial Fe(III) concentration affects Cr(VI) photoreduction most significantly.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.329-335
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• 2015

The effects of ion-doping on $TiO_2$ nanotubes were investigated to obtain the optimal catalyst for the effective decomposition of Rhodamine B (RB) through UV photocatalytic oxidation process. Changing the calcination temperature, which changed the weight fractions of the anatase phase, the average crystallite sizes, the BET surface area, and the energy band gap of the catalyst, affected the photocatalytic activity of the catalyst. The ionic radius, valence state, and configuration of the dopant also affected the photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activities of the catalysts on RB removal increased when $Ag^+$, $Al^{3+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ were doped into the $TiO_2$ nanotubes, whereas such activities decreased as a result of $Mn^{2+}$ or $Ni^{2+}$ doping. In the presence of $Zn^{2+}$-doped $TiO_2$ nanotubes calcined at $550^{\circ}C$, the removal efficiency of RB within 50 min was 98.7%.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.7
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• pp.674-682
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• 2010

Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composite photocatalysts were prepared with titanium (IV) n-butoxide (TNB) by a sol-gel method. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), specific surface area (BET), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) solution. XRD patterns of the composites showed that the Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composite contained a typical single and clear anatase phase. The surface properties shown by SEM present a characterization of the texture on Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composites and showed a homogenous composition in the particles for the titanium sources used. The EDX spectra for the elemental identification showed the presence of C and Ti with strong Fe peaks for the Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composite. From the photocatalytic results, the excellent activity of the Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composites for degradation of methylene blue under UV light irradiation could be attributed to both the effects between photocatalytic reaction of the supported $TiO_2$, decomposition of the organometallic reaction by the Fe compound and energy transfer effects such as electron and light of the fullerene.