Industrial application of photocatalysts prepared by hydrothermal and sol-gel methods

Abstract TiO 2 -containing almond shell activated carbons (TiO 2 /ASAC) with high photocatalytic activity were prepared using hydrothermal and sol–gel methods. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by different techniques. XRD study confirmed that TiO 2 existed in a mixture of anatase and rutile phase. Nano-TiO 2 particles were dispersed on the ASAC with the size of 18–24 nm. The specific surface area of the samples decreased from 1398 m 2 /g to 661 m 2 /g indicating that the pores of activated carbon are blocked by TiO 2 . The photocatalyst obtained from the hydrothermal process is better than the other samples one in a comparison of the anatase content, and was also confirmed by the photocatalytic degradation of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) from industrial phosphoric acid solution under UV irradiation.