Synthesis of TiO(2) supported on activated carbon by MOCVD: operation parameters study.

The metallo-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique has been applied to the preparation of the photocatalyst titanium dioxide supported on activated carbon. The effects of various condition parameters such as carrier gas flow rate, source temperature and deposition temperature on the deposition rate were investigated. The maximum deposition rate of 8.2 mg/(g x h) was obtained under conditions of carrier gas flow rate of 400 ml/min, source temperature of 423 K and deposition temperature of 913 K. The deposition rate followed Arrhenius behavior at temperature of 753 K to 913 K, corresponding to activation energy E(a) of 51.09 kJ/mol. TiO(2) existed only in anatase phase when the deposition temperature was 773 K to 973 K. With increase of deposition temperature from 1073 K to 1273 K, the rutile content sharply increased from 7% to 70%. It was found that a deposition temperature of 773 K and a higher source temperature of 448 K resulted in finely dispersed TiO(2) particles, which were mainly in the range of 10-20 nm.