Production and Evaluation of Floating Photocatalytic Composite Particles Formed Using Pickering Emulsions and Membrane Emulsification
Articles > Article · 2012
Authors: Richard G. HOLDICH, İdil YILMAZ İPEK, Manal LAZRIGH, Gilbert SHAMA
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Journal Indexed in SCI Expanded, International, WoS, 2012, vol 51, pp 12509-12516
DOI: 10.1021/ie3001748
Summary
Floating photocatalytic composite particles were created by injecting a lipid (sunflower oil or liquefied cocoa butter) into an aqueous suspension of TiO 2 nanoparticles using the process of membrane emulsification to control the (Pickering) emulsion size. The composite particle median diameters were controlled in a range from 80 to 300 μm. The composite particles floated in water and possessed photocatalytic activity, which was further enhanced by chemically incorporating silver particles into the TiO 2 shell. The cocoa butter-based composite particles proved more robust and were not affected by the UV photocatalytic process. Using a combination of cocoa butter and hexane, for the core of the particles, it was possible to generate composite TiO 2 and lipid particles with 36 mg of TiO 2 per gram of particle. Optimal dye decolorization was achieved with a particle surface coverage of between 60 and 80%. Complete surface coverage resulted in a reduced reaction rate due possibly to reflection of the UV light.