4 Conclusions
Mesoporous carbon with a high surface area and a large
pore volume was used as a support for TiO2 nanoparticles to
prepare TiO2/MC photocatalysts through a sol-gel method.
After TiO2 loading, both surface area and pore volume were
decreased, and the thermal stability of TiO2 crystallites
increased. The experimental results showed that TiO2/MC
nanocomposites exhibit higher activities than pure TiO2 for
the removal of methyl orange. The optimal weight ratio of
TiO2 to MC in the nanocomposites and calcination
temperature required was determined to be 50% and 450 °C,
respectively. The dispersion of TiO2 in the nanocomposites is
good, and a synergistic effect of adsorption and degradation
for the catalytic activity is emphasized. The MO removal rate
of TiO2/MC reached 89% after a UV irradiation for 75 min.
The kinetics of MO degradation can be fitted well with the
first-order reaction model and the largest rate constant is 0.015
min-1 for the 50%TiO2/MC-550 nanocomposite.