Solvent Deposition of Titanium Dioxide on Acrylic for Photocatalytic Application

Nanoscale TiO2 was dispersed in a solution of dichloromethane and methanol for deposition on the surface of acrylic sheets. After evaporation of the solvent, the TiO2 was adhered firmly to the acrylic surface. This deposition method yielded uniform, high surface area coatings as evidenced by scanning electron micrographs. The TiO2 films deposited on acrylic in this manner have superior durability when compared to TiO2 deposited on glass supports. The TiO2 fused on the acrylic surface manifests a comparable photocatalytic activity to TiO2 deposited directly on glass and a markedly higher activity than TiO2 deposited on glass with a poly(vinyl alcohol) binder. A photocatalytic reactor was constructed from the TiO2−acrylic composite materials, and the applicability of this deposition technique was demonstrated by the 97% degradation of methyl orange in 2.0 L of a 13 ppm solution after 500 min of photoexposure.