Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol.34, No.12, 1279-1285, 2004
Fabrication of TiO2 composite materials for air purificatgion by magnetic field effect and electrocodeposition
Novel air purification materials were fabricated by the application of a magnetic field. In a magnetic field perpendicular to a copper plate, nickel particles with a diameter of 10 mum were arranged to form numerous pillar-like structures on the matrix surface, and copper as a binder was deposited onto the three-dimensional surface. The total surface area of the pillars and the matrix increased with the magnetic flux density, up to about 800 cm(2) per cm(2) of the original matrix surface at 6.2 T. After successful codeposition of TiO2 particles on the fabricated materials by electroplating, their photocatalytic activities were evaluated on the basis of the removal efficiency of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are some of the most hazardous air pollutants. It was concluded that the samples with the pillar-like structures had two opposite characteristics: large surface area as a positive effect and shadowing against ultraviolet (UV) irradiation as a negative effect. However, total photocatalytic activity increased to twice as much as that of the flat sample by improving the UV irradiation method and the preparation condition of the materials.
Keywords:electrocodeposition;nitrogen oxides;magnetic field effect;photocatalyst;materials;titanium oxide