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    Superhydrophobic self-floating TiO2-silicone composite aerogels and their air-liquid-solid triphase photocatalytic system

    Year: 2021

    Journal: Appl. Surf. Sci., Volume 536, JAN 15

    Authors: Zhang, Lixin; Rao, Lei; Wang, Peifang; Shi, Zhenyu; Wang, Pingfan

    Organizations: National Science Funds for Creative Research Groups of China [51421006]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [51775167]; National Major Projects of Water Pollution Control and Management Technology [2017ZX07204003]

    Keywords: Floating photocatalyst; TiO2; Methyltriethoxysilane; Superhydrophobic composite aerogels; Triphase photocatalytic system

    Semiconductor photocatalysis is as a promising method for water pollution remediation. However, the recycling and light capture of powder photocatalysts in traditional suspension systems are bottlenecks for their practical application in photocatalysis. Moreover, the large-scale application of traditional immobilized photocatalytic systems immersed in solution is limited due to the electron-hole recombination and slow reaction rate. Herein, we have successfully prepared superhydrophobic self-floating TiO2-silicone composite aerogels by condensation polymerization of gamma-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane (KH570) modified anatase TiO2 and methyltriethoxysilane (MTES). The air-liquid-solid triphase photocatalytic system was constructed using the air layer formed by the superhydrophobic self-floating composite aerogel and the solution interface, which solved the above-mentioned limitation. The floating characteristics of the system effectively avoided the absorption of light by the solution, thereby significantly enhancing the light utilization of the catalyst. The air-liquid-solid interface allows oxygen to be quickly transported from the air to the reaction interface, and oxygen, which is a natural electron scavenger, can effectively remove photoelectrons from the catalyst surface and the recombination of electron-holes is minimized. The new self-floating photocatalyst with triphase catalytic system presented high practical application value for the degradation of suspended pollutants in a natural environment.
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