Effect Of Nanoparticle Size on The Photoelectrochemical Property of Anatase Nanocrystals in Photocatalysis

Abstract

Using light energy to make electrochemical reaction, photocatalysis is among the most promising technology for water treatment. In heterogeneous catalysis, electrochemical reactions occur at the liquid/solid of gas/solid interface. The development of materials with a high surface area (nanomaterials) has then been considered as the best route achieving an efficient system. In this paper, we studied the effect of the crystal size on the photoelectrochemical properties of anatase. Two synthesis routes were used to get nanoparticles with different size and the comparison of their efficiency for the degradation of rhodamine B under ultraviolet (UV) light excitation showed that crystallite size is most important than surface area consideration. Comparing results obtained under UV lamp and under sunlight excitation, we also demonstrated that photocatalysis is more efficient under sunlight radiation.