Large scale production of photocatalytic TiO<sub>2</sub> coating for volatile organic compound (VOC) air remediation

Julien G. Mahy; Stéphanie D. Lambert; Jérémy Geens; Alain Daniel; David Wicky; Catherine Archambeau; Benoît Heinrichs; Julien G. Mahy; Stéphanie D. Lambert; Jérémy Geens; Alain Daniel; David Wicky; Catherine Archambeau; Benoît Heinrichs

doi:10.3934/matersci.2018.5.945

AIMS Materials Science

2018, Volume 5, Issue 5: 945-956. doi: 10.3934/matersci.2018.5.945

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Research article Special Issues

Large scale production of photocatalytic TiO₂ coating for volatile organic compound (VOC) air remediation

1.
Department of Chemical Engineering – Nanomaterials, Catalysis & Electrochemistry, University of Liège, B6a, Quartier Agora, Allée du six Août 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium
2.
AC&CS – CRM GROUP, B57, Quartier Polytech 3, Allée de l’Innovation 1, 4000 Liège, Belgium

Received: 31 July 2018 Accepted: 14 October 2018 Published: 18 October 2018

In this work, a pure TiO₂ colloid was produced at pilot scale of 5 L and deposited on stainless steel with a pilot roll-to-roll line to produce photocatalytic coating for VOC degradation. The pure TiO₂ colloid was synthesized with an aqueous sol–gel process, producing crystalline nanoparticles around 4–5 nm (mainly anatase phase) dispersed in water. The crystalline phases were produced at low temperature (<100 ℃) without calcination step. The crystalline coating produced with roll-to-roll process was very thin, around 50 nm. The photoactivity of this coating towards VOC destruction was evaluated on the degradation of acetaldehyde; the measured activity of the coating was 35 ± 5%. With the use of mass spectrometer, it was shown that acetaldehyde was mainly converted in CO₂. The durability of the coating was assessed after 1, 2 and 3 weeks, and showed that the photoactivity stayed constant for this period.
- aqueous TiO₂,
- colloid,
- sol–gel process,
- pilot scale coating,
- photocatalysis,
- acetaldehyde degradation
Citation: Julien G. Mahy, Stéphanie D. Lambert, Jérémy Geens, Alain Daniel, David Wicky, Catherine Archambeau, Benoît Heinrichs. Large scale production of photocatalytic TiO2 coating for volatile organic compound (VOC) air remediation[J]. AIMS Materials Science, 2018, 5(5): 945-956. doi: 10.3934/matersci.2018.5.945

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Abstract

In this work, a pure TiO₂ colloid was produced at pilot scale of 5 L and deposited on stainless steel with a pilot roll-to-roll line to produce photocatalytic coating for VOC degradation. The pure TiO₂ colloid was synthesized with an aqueous sol–gel process, producing crystalline nanoparticles around 4–5 nm (mainly anatase phase) dispersed in water. The crystalline phases were produced at low temperature (<100 ℃) without calcination step. The crystalline coating produced with roll-to-roll process was very thin, around 50 nm. The photoactivity of this coating towards VOC destruction was evaluated on the degradation of acetaldehyde; the measured activity of the coating was 35 ± 5%. With the use of mass spectrometer, it was shown that acetaldehyde was mainly converted in CO₂. The durability of the coating was assessed after 1, 2 and 3 weeks, and showed that the photoactivity stayed constant for this period.

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