Synthesis of carbon containing TiO2 nano powders by aerosol flame deposition for photocatalyst.

In-situ carbon-doped-TiO2 nano-powder was prepared by an AFD (aerosol flame deposition) technique using ethanol and isopropanol, and the photocatalytic activity of the prepared powder was examined. There were no significant effect of the solvents on the phase of the prepared TiO2, but the level of carbon in the deposits prepared with ethanol was lower than that prepared with isopropanol. Also, the average sizes of the particles prepared with ethanol were slightly smaller than that formed with isopropanol. All the samples showed excellent photocatalytic activity in the decomposing of methylene blue (MB). We even observed photocatalytic activity of the powder under visible light irradiation, although the decomposition rate of MB under this irradiation was slightly slower than under UV-A light irradiation.