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Updated: May 30, 2026

A Continuous-flow Photocatalytic Reactor for the Precisely Controlled Deposition of Metallic Nanoparticles
Published on: April 10, 2019
Deposition of anatase titania onto carbon encapsulated magnetite nanoparticles
Yanhui Ao1, Jingjing Xu, Degang Fu
1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, People's Republic of China. State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, People's Republic of China. Key Laboratory of Environmental and Bio-Safety in Suzhou, Research Institute of Southeast University, Dushu Lake Hogher Education Town, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
A novel magnetically separable photocatalyst (titania-coated carbon encapsulated magnetite: TCCEF) was prepared. The prepared composite photocatalyst was characterized with an x-ray diffractometer (XRD), a transmission electron microscope (TEM), a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The photocatalytic activity of the samples was determined by degrading model contaminated water, a phenol aqueous solution. The results were compared with single-phase titania (pure titania and Degussa P25) and Fe(3)O(4)/TiO(2), and enhanced photocatalytic activity was obtained. It is suggested that the enhanced photocatalytic activity is ascribed to two major factors. First, the encapsulation of magnetite into the carbon layer may inhibit the direct electrical contact of titania and magnetite, hence preventing the photodissolution of the iron oxide phase. Second, the enhanced hydroxyl groups on TCCEF may inhibit the recombination of electron-hole pairs. On the other hand, the magnetic photocatalyst can be easily recovered from a slurry with the application of an external magnetic field.

