Date of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Metallurgical Engineering

Committee Chair

Courtney Young

First Advisor

Steven Gammon

Second Advisor

Hsin-Hsiung Huang

Abstract

Titanium dioxide possesses near-ideal properties for large-scale application as a photocatalyst. It is cheap and abundant, nontoxic, and environmentally safe. However, it still suffers from logistical problems preventing its application in industry: namely, rapid electron-hole recombination and inability to utilize visible light. For nearly five decades researchers in this booming field have made numerous attempts to address these problems, doping and combining titanium dioxide with a wide range of materials. A novel ambient-temperature approach to synthesis and doping/modification of anatase-form titanium dioxide was attempted using both oxygen-rich and oxygen deprived synthetic routes. Reactants were exposed to various wavelengths of ultraviolet light during particle formation and the products were characterized by a wide array of techniques including X-ray diffraction, Raman specstroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy. Photocatalytic activity was measured qualitatively by comparing rates of degradation of an azo dye, and band gap was measured using a Tauc analysis of ultraviolet-visible spectroscopic reflectance data. For the purposes of producing an effective photocatalyst, UV-exposure was found to benefit the products synthesized using the oxygen-rich synthetic route and to detract from those produced by the oxygen-deprived route.

Comments

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mineral Processing/Metallurgical Engineering

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