Papers by Author: Yusuke Okada

Abstract: The synthesis of the hydrophobic mesoporous silica MS(F) was performed using tetraethyl orthosilicate, triethoxyfluorosilane as the source of the fluoride and dodecylamine as templates. The TiO2 loaded on the hydrophobic MS(F) (TiO2/MS(F)) exhibited the efficient photocatalytic performance for the degradation of alcohols (iso-butanol) diluted in water. The photocatalytic reactivity for the degradation increased with increasing the content of fluoride ions on these photocatalysts. The hydrophobic mesoporous surface is suitable as the photocatalytic reaction field for the degradation of organic compounds diluted water.

Abstract: TiO2 photocatalysts prepared by a novel multi-gelation method showed good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of 2-propanol diluted in water by the control of parameters such as particle size, surface area, crystallinity, pore-volume, pore-diameter as well as anatase and rutile phase composition by changing the number of pH swings during preparation. In particular, with this method the phase transition from anatase to rutile at higher pH swing times can be controlled and high purity and uniformity of the TiO2 particles which leads to higher photocatalytic activity of the particles can be achieved. From our experimental results, it has been observed that TiO2 catalysts prepared by this unique multi-gelation method, i.e., adopting variations in the pH swing, significantly shows higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of 2- propanol diluted in water. It can be considered a viable alternative over existing commercial methods for the preparation of photofunctional catalysts.