Enhancing visible-light activity of the self-cleaning TiO2-coated cotton fabrics by loading AgI particles

• Published in: Surface & coatings technology Vol. 206; no. 6; pp. 1175 - 1179
• Main Authors: Wu, Deyong, Long, Mingce
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 15.12.2011
• Subjects: Cotton; Fabrics; Particulate composites; Photocatalysis; Scanning electron microscopy; Semiconductors; Thermal resistance; Titanium dioxide; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; X-rays
• ISSN: 0257-8972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2011.08.007

To extend the application of TiO2 to substrates with low thermal resistance, enhanced visible-light activity of the self-cleaning TiO2-coated cotton fabrics was realised by doping with AgI particles. XRD, SEM, XPS, and UV-VIS spectroscopy, were used to study the phase structures, morphologies and optical properties of the samples. The photocatalytic properties of the prepared products were measured by the degradation of methyl orange at room temperature under visible light irradiation. Compared with TiO2-cotton fabrics, the dramatic enhancement in the visible light photocatalytic performance of the AgI-TiO2-cotton fabrics was attributed to AgI with a narrow band gap and the effective electron-hole separation at the interface of the two semiconductors. The photocatalytic performances of the AgI-TiO2-cotton fabrics were maintained during cyclic experiments. In addition, based on the XRD patterns of the AgI-TiO2-cotton fabrics before and after the reaction, AgI was stable in the composites under visible irradiation, indicating that AgI-TiO2-cotton fabrics could be used as stable and efficient visible-light-induced self-cleaning materials.