Browsing by Subject "Rhodamine B"

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Open Access
Hierarchical synthesis of corrugated photocatalytic TiO2 microsphere architectures on natural pollen surfaces
(Elsevier BV, 2017) Erdogan, D. A.; Ozensoy, E.
Biomaterials are challenging, yet vastly promising templates for engineering unusual inorganic materials with unprecedented surface and structural properties. In the current work, a novel biotemplate-based photocatalytic material was synthesized in the form of corrugated TiO2 microspheres by utilizing a sol-gel methodology where Ambrosia trifida (Ab, Giant ragweed) pollen was exploited as the initial biological support surface. Hierarchically synthesized TiO2 microspheres were structurally characterized in detail via SEM-EDX, Raman spectroscopy, XRD and BET techniques in order to shed light on the surface chemistry, crystal structure, chemical composition and morphology of these novel material architectures. Photocatalytic functionality of the synthesized materials was demonstrated both in gas phase as well as in liquid phase. Along these lines, air and water purification capabilities of the synthesized TiO2 microspheres were established by performing photocatalytic oxidative NOx(g) storage and Rhodamine B(aq) degradation experiments; respectively. The synthetic approach presented herein offers new opportunities to design and create sophisticated functional materials that can be used in micro reactor systems, adsorbents, drug delivery systems, catalytic processes, and sensor technologies.
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.