Effect of the TiO₂ Colloidal Size Distribution on the Degradation of Methylene Blue

TiO₂ is the most commonly used photocatalyst in water treatment. The particle size of TiO₂ is an important factor that significantly influences its activity during photocatalytic degradation. In the presence of liquid, the properties of nanopowders composed of exactly the same product clearly differ according to their aggregation size. In this study, TiO₂ nanoparticles with a controlled size were fabricated by focused ultrasound dispersion. The high energy generated by this system was used to control the size of TiO₂ particles in the suspension. The constant high energy released by cavitation enabled the dispersion of the particles without a surfactant. The activities of the prepared TiO₂ photocatalysts for methylene blue (MB) degradation were then compared. The dye degradation effect of the photocatalyst was as high as 61.7% after 10 min when the size of the powder was controlled in the solution, but it was only as high as 41.0% when the aggregation size was not controlled. Furthermore, when the TiO₂ concentration exceeded a certain level, the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ decreased. Controlling the size of the aggregated photocatalyst particles is, therefore, essential in water-treatment technologies utilizing TiO₂ photocatalytic properties, and adjusting the TiO₂ concentration is an important economic factor in this photocatalytic technology. This study contributes to the development of processes for degrading dyes, such as MB, released from wastewater into aquatic environments.