Doped and undoped anatase-based plates obtained from paper templates for photocatalytic oxidation of NOx

Abstract

Titanium dioxide is frequently used for the photocatalytic degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants present in the air, such as NOx. In this work, biomorphic anatase-based plates were manufactured using paper as an innovative template for fixation of TiO2. Ceramics with microstructure similar to paper were produced by infiltration of titanium isopropoxide (TTiP) and dopants, followed by hydrolysis in NH4OH, air drying, and calcination at temperatures up to 1000 °C. After heat treatment, the samples were characterized by XRD, TG/DTA, BET, EPR, and SEM. Anatase was obtained as the major phase at 800 °C and remained present up to 1000 °C. In tests of photocatalytic efficiency of produced plates for degradation of NOx gases, the best performance was obtained with a biomorphic anatase-based plate prepared using TTiP doped with 5% Zr4+, corresponding to 100% degradation of NOx in 35 min.