Synthesis of nano-TiO2 photocatalyst and determination of it's photocatalytic activity

In this thesis, transition-metal doped and undoped nano-TiO2 particles easily dispersed in water were synthesized by hydrothermal process without using an acid catalyst, except for undoped TiO2 synthesis. Nanostructure-TiO2 based thin films were prepared by dip-coating technique on flyswatter substrate made from aluminum. The structure, surface and optical properties of the particles and films were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM/EDX and UV/VIS/NIR techniques. The photocatalytic performances of the films were tested for degradation of Malachite Green dye under UV and Vis-lights. The results showed that flyswatter coated with transition-metal doped TiO2 had a significant photocatalytic performance for the photodegradation of Malachite Green. The results also proved that the hydrothermally synthesized nano-TiO2 particles were fully in anatase crystalline form; easily dispersed in water, the coated surfaces were hydrophilic, and the doping of transition metal ion was efficiently improved the degradation performance of pure TiO2-coated flyswatter. Generally, the photocatalytic performances determined at both irradiation conditions were quite good and almost similar to each other for transition metal ion doped TiO2-coated flyswatter and they can be repeatedly used with increasing photocatalytic activity compared to undoped TiO2-coated flyswatter. Photocatalytical activity of 5Ta5+-TiO2 coated flyswatter has also been investigated for cleaning the polluted water in a pilot scale swimming pool designed in our laboratory similar to the original pool conditions.