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Band Gap Implications on Nano-TiO₂ Surface Modification with Ascorbic Acid for Visible Light-Active Polypropylene
Chiara Anna D'Amato1, Rita Giovannetti2, Marco Zannotti3
1School of Science and Technology, Chemistry Division, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy. chiaraanna.damato@unicam.it.
Abstract:
The effect of surface modification using ascorbic acid as a surface modifier of nano-TiO₂ heterogeneous photocatalyst was studied. The preparation of supported photocatalyst was made by a specific paste containing ascorbic acid modified TiO₂ nanoparticles used to cover Polypropylene as a support material. The obtained heterogeneous photocatalyst was thoroughly characterized (scanning electron microscope (SEM), RAMAN, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence (PL), and Diffuse Reflectance Spectra (DRS) and successfully applied in the visible light photodegradation of Alizarin Red S in water solutions. In particular, this new supported TiO₂ photocatalyst showed a change in the adsorption mechanism of dye with respect to that of only TiO₂ due to the surface properties. In addition, an improvement of photocatalytic performances in the visible light photodegration was obtained, showing a strict correlation between efficiency and energy band gap values, evidencing the favorable surface modification of TiO₂ nanoparticles.
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