Assessment of Bamboo Charcoal/Nano-TiO2 (BC/TiO2) Composite Material and Its Application in Photocatalytic Coating

The bamboo charcoal/nano-TiO2 (BC/TiO2) composite material is designed and prepared for further improving photocatalytic property of TiO2. Assessment of BC/TiO2 composite material and its application in photocatalytic coating are investigated by nitrogen absorption test, scanning electron microscopy-energy disperse spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) characterization and photocatalytic and mechanical properties analysis. The results show that optimal ratio of TiO2 to BC is 0.03. Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation ratio can reach 62.9% under 4 h UV light irradiation, which is 43.7% higher than pure TiO2 sample. The specific surface area (SBET) and the total average pore size (D¯\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\overline {D}$$\end{document}) of BC/TiO2 can reach 388.33 m2/g and 3.71 nm, respectively. Moreover, the photocatalytic coatings prepared mainly by BC/TiO2 and polyacrylic emulsion (PAE), not only show satisfactory mechanical properties, but also have excellent photocatalytic property. When the addition of BC/TiO2 composite materials is 6%, the photocatalytic property of coating is optimal, RhB degradation ratio can reach 83.7% under 8 h UV light irradiation. Also the adhesion, pencil hardness and impact resistance reach 2 level, 2H and 44 kg cm, respectively.