Comparison studies on the effectiveness of doping crystalline carbon nanotubes (CNT) and amorphous activated carbon (AC) separately on anatase titania with ctab for the decolourisation of methylene blue (MB) under uv irradation

Abstract

Anatase titania powder was doped with carbon nanotubes (CNT) and activated carbon (AC) separately using CTAB as a dispersant. The modified titania catalysts were sonicated for 3 h before drying, followed by calcination in a muffle furnace at 500°C for 1 h. The SEM and TEM images of the catalysts exhibited well distributed dopants within the titania matrix. PL analysis showed that carbon modified titania had lower PL intensity compared to that of pure anatase titania indicating a lower electron and hole recombination rate. XRD and FT-Raman analysis showed that the modified titania catalysts retained its anatase structure even after calcination at 500°C. Both the CNT and AC doped titania catalysts exhibited better photocatalytic activity compared to pure anatase titania powder for the decolourisation of methylene blue (MB) under UV irradiation.