Immobilization of TiO2 on an ITO substrate to facilitate the photoelectrochemical degradation of an organic dye pollutant

Abstract

In this study, we developed an immobilized TiO2 semiconductor on an ITO glass substrate (TiO2/ITO) and investigated its photocatalytic and electrochemical performance. The TiO2/ITO samples were prepared via a spin-coating process followed by calcination and were used for the photocatalytic or electrochemical degradation of an organic dye pollutant. The measured photocatalytic performance was comparable to that reported in previous publications; however, a remarkable result was obtained in our electrochemical system. The formation of hydroxyl radicals (OH{radical dot}) strongly dominated the electrochemical system, which resulted in outstanding degradation performance. Therefore, we propose a commercializable photoelectrochemical system that can maximize the degradation of pollutants in wastewater treatment plants. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.