Influence of TiO2 film on photo-catalytic property of enamels

Abstract Ti(OC 4 H 9 ) 4 –C 2 H 5 OH–H 2 O was used as matrix solution of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) film. Through sol–gel process, enamels were coated with TiO 2 film. Using methyl-orange as the simulative pollutant solution of photo-catalytic efficiency, we studied photo-catalytic activities of the enamels with and without TiO 2 film. Crystal structure and microstructure of the TiO 2 film were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffract meter (XRD). Results showed that the photo-catalytic efficiency was greatly improved by the TiO 2 film coated on the enamel surface, and crystal of the TiO 2 film was anatase with imperfect crystal structure at the baking temperature of 450 °C. The TiO 2 film consisted of a lot of very small particles (0.01–0.05 μm and/or 10–50 nano), those particles had very small size and very large surface dimension as well as very high chemical activity, which made TiO 2 film have excellent photo-catalytic degradation.