Title	Photocatalytic Ag@TiO₂ nanoparticle fabrication and its application in methylene blue degradation
Authors	Man, Long Hin
Advisors	Dai, Jiyan
Degree	Undergraduate
Issue Date	2018
Absctract	Photocatalysts are widely used inside the paint to remove dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this project, a hybrid material - Ag@TiO2 was fabricated in order to substitute for conventional pure TiO2 photocatalysts used in paint. The nanostructure of this new material was examined by transmission electron microscope. The Ag@TiO2 obtained has a much smaller size than TiO2 nanoparticles made by same method. Photocatalytic activity of Ag@TiO2 was also examined, and it was found that this new material can trigger the photocatalysis process under visible light; while conventional TiO2 cannot. The corresponding catalytic mechanisms are discussed in detail. Methylene blue, acting as an indicator of amount of VOCs, was added into the Ag@TiO2, and UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to measure the change of absorbance peak in methylene blue. By comparing the degradation effect on methylene blue between pure TiO2 and Ag@TiO2, it turned out that the Ag@TiO2 has a higher degradation efficiency.
Subjects	Photocatalysis Nanostructured materials
Publisher	Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Rights	All rights reserved.