Synergistic photocatalytic effect of TiO2 coatings and p-type semiconductive SiC foam supports for degradation of organic contaminant

Abstract Structured TiO 2 –SiC photocatalysts were prepared by coating TiO 2 nanoparticles on Si incorporated SiC foam supports, and their photocatalytic activities toward degradation of organic contaminant under UV light irradiation were evaluated by taking 4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid (4-ABS) as a model contaminant. In comparison to SiC foam support and TiO 2 nanoparticles the TiO 2 –SiC photocatalysts exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance. The effects of coating thickness of TiO 2 and pore sizes of the SiC foam supports on the photocatalytic activities were studied. A synergistic photocatalytic effect between the p -type semiconductive SiC foam supports and the n -type TiO 2 coating was proposed to account for this enhanced photocatalytic properties.