| abstract |
Disclosed are methods of making a photocatalyst by loading titanium dioxide film on a flexible substrate, comprising the steps of: (1) preparing an active layer sol-gel by: (a) making a precursor solution comprising n-butyl titanate, ethanol, diethanolamine, and water; (b) adding a pore-forming agent selected from the group consisting of polyglycol, octadecylamine, and mixtures thereof to the precursor solution; and (c) placing the resulting solution in a sealed gelatinization process for at least 3 days; and (2) preparing an active TiO2 photocatalyst layer by: (a) coating a flexible substrate with the active layer sol-gel prepared according to step (1) using a pulling and coating process; (b) drying the coated flexible substrate; and (c) placing the coated, dried flexible substrate in a hydrothermal kettle for thermal crystallization in a mixed solvent of ethanol and water at 60-200°C. Further disclosed are methods wherein the precursor solution comprises titanium tetrachloride, ethanol, and water. |