Abstract
The simple Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) technique was used to create
nanostructured TiO2@carbon thin films (TCTF) with improved photocatalytic
properties. This research reports the modification of titanium dioxide using coconut
husk fibre carbon. The first sol-gel method for the comparative low-temperature
carbonization and acid digestion of coconut husk fibres has been suggested for the
synthesis of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) and their composite with TiO2. The
microsphere-structured TiO2@carbon thin films were created by simply regulating
the deposition process parameters. The morphology exhibits a strong correlation with
the methyl orange (MO) photodegradation efficacy of TCTF as well. This discovery
offers a suitable method for engineering the energetic and interfacial characteristics
of TCTF to improve semiconductor photocatalytic performance. The anatase structure
of the TCTF is visible in XRD. According to HR-TEM, TiO2@carbon nanocomposite
(TCNCS) is prepared with a dimension of 10-15 nm. The Ti-O-Ti is strongly absorbed
between 500 and 800 cm-1 in both TiO2 and the mixture, as shown by the FT-IR
spectra. It can be seen from DRS spectra that the bandgap energy (Eg) of TCNCS
decreases significantly (3.05 eV). TCTF is composed of microspheres of various sizes
and a smooth surface, according to FE-SEM images. Only Ti, C, and O are visible in
the EDS result, demonstrating the great purity of the TCNCS made using this
technique. Methyl orange (MO) degradation under UV light exposure was used to
assess the photocatalytic activity of the TCNCS. The rate constant for TCNCS is
greater than TiO2, and the photocatalytic degradation is observed to be pseudo-firstorder.