Synthesis of TiO2 photocatalyst and study on their improvement technology of photocatalytic activity

Thin films of titanium dioxie (TiO2) were deposited on glass using a single molecular precursor such as titanium (IV) iso-propoxide (Ti[OCH(CH3)2] 4, 97%) by sol-gel processing. In order to elevate photocatalytic activity of the as-grown TiO2 films, oxygen plasma ignited by radio-frequency (RF) under vacuum condition was also used in the range of 50∼200 W within 0.5 h at room temperature. During toluene and phenol removal test, photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the measurements of the UV/vis. irradiation, infrared spectroscopy, XPS, and contact angle analysis. In this work, the effect of the plasma on the improvement of hydrophilic property of photocatalyst has mainly been investigated. A superhydrophilic property and smooth surface morphology appeared in the UV light irradiation with O2 plasma treatment. Based on this work, we confirmed that the oxygen RF plasma treatment method was very reliable method for the synthesis of TiO2 photocatalyst with high catalytic performance and long durability.