Browsing by Author "Polat, M."

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Open Access
Influence of the sol – gel preparation method on the photocatalytic NO oxidation performance of TiO2/Al2O3 binary oxides
(Elsevier, 2015-03-01) Soylu, A. M.; Polat, M.; Erdogan, D. A.; Erguven, H.; Ozensoy, E.; Vovk, E. I.
In the current work, TiO2/Al2O3 binary oxide photocatalysts were synthesized via two different sol-gel protocols (P1 and P2), where various TiO2 to Al2O3 mole ratios (0.5 and 1.0) and calcination temperatures (150-1000 degrees C) were utilized in the synthesis. Structural characterization of the synthesized binary oxide photocatalysts was also performed via BET surface area analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The photocatalytic NO(g) oxidation performances of these binary oxides were measured under UVA irradiation in a comparative fashion to that of a Degussa P25 industrial benchmark. TiO2/Al2O3 binary oxide photocatalysts demonstrate a novel approach which is essentially a fusion of NSR (NOx storage reduction) and PCO (photocatalytic oxidation) technologies. In this approach, rather than attempting to perform complete NOx reduction, NO(g) is oxidized on a photocatalyst surface and stored in the solidstate. Current results suggest that alumina domains can be utilized as active NOx capturing sites that can significantly eliminate the release of toxic NO2(g) into the atmosphere. Using either (P1) or (P2) protocols, structurally different binary oxide systems can be synthesized enabling much superior photocatalytic total NOx removal (i.e. up to 176% higher) than Degussa P25. Furthermore, such binary oxides can also simultaneously decrease the toxic NO2(g) emission to the atmosphere by 75% with respect to that of Degussa P25. There is a complex interplay between calcination temperature, crystal structure, composition and specific surface area, which dictate the ultimate photocatalytic activity in a coordinative manner. Two structurally different photocatalysts prepared via different preparation protocols reveal comparably high photocatalytic activities implying that the active sites responsible for the photocatalytic NO(g) oxidation and storage have a non-trivial nature.
Open Access
Thermal evolution of structure and photocatalytic activity in polymer microsphere templated TiO2 microbowls
(Elsevier, 2014) Erdogan, D. A.; Polat, M.; Garifullin, R.; Güler, Mustafa O.; Ozensoy, E.
Polystyrene cross-linked divinyl benzene (PS-co-DVB) microspheres were used as an organic template in order to synthesize photocatalytic TiO2 microspheres and microbowls. Photocatalytic activity of the microbowl surfaces were demonstrated both in the gas phase via photocatalytic NO(g) oxidation by O2(g) as well as in the liquid phase via Rhodamine B degradation. Thermal degradation mechanism of the polymer template and its direct influence on the TiO2 crystal structure, surface morphology, composition, specific surface area and the gas/liquid phase photocatalytic activity data were discussed in detail. With increasing calcination temperatures, spherical polymer template first undergoes a glass transition, covering the TiO 2 film, followed by the complete decomposition of the organic template to yield TiO2 exposed microbowl structures. TiO2 microbowl systems calcined at 600 °C yielded the highest per-site basis photocatalytic activity. Crystallographic and electronic properties of the TiO2 microsphere surfaces as well as their surface area play a crucial role in their ultimate photocatalytic activity. It was demonstrated that the polymer microsphere templated TiO2 photocatalysts presented in the current work offer a promising and a versatile synthetic platform for photocatalytic DeNOx applications for air purification technologies.
Open Access
TiO2-Al2O3 binary mixed oxide surfaces for photocatalytic NOx abatement
(Elsevier, 2014) Soylu, A. M.; Polat, M.; Erdogan, D. A.; Say, Z.; Yıldırım, C.; Birer, Ö.; Ozensoy, E.
TiO2-Al2O3 binary oxide surfaces were utilized in order to develop an alternative photocatalytic NOx abatement approach, where TiO2 sites were used for ambient photocatalytic oxidation of NO with O2 and alumina sites were exploited for NOx storage. Chemical, crystallographic and electronic structure of the TiO2-Al2O3 binary oxide surfaces were characterized (via BET surface area measurements, XRD, Raman spectroscopy and DR-UV-Vis Spectroscopy) as a function of the TiO2 loading in the mixture as well as the calcination temperature used in the synthesis protocol. 0.5 Ti/Al-900 photocatalyst showed remarkable photocatalytic NOx oxidation and storage performance, which was found to be much superior to that of a Degussa P25 industrial benchmark photocatalyst (i.e. 160% higher NOx storage and 55% lower NO2(g) release to the atmosphere). Our results indicate that the onset of the photocatalytic NOx abatement activity is concomitant to the switch between amorphous to a crystalline phase with an electronic band gap within 3.05-3.10 eV; where the most active photocatalyst revealed predominantly rutile phase together and anatase as the minority phase.