Controlled TiO2 coating on hollow glass microspheres and their reflective thermal insulation properties

Hollow glass microspheres(HGMs)have great potential in building energy-saving and industrial insulation.Anatase TiO2-modified HGMs were prepared by a sol-gel method in acetic acid-ethanol solution.Scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,zeta-potential measurements,nitrogen-sorption measurements,and Fourier-transform infrared and ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopies showed that the alkali modification of the HGMs greatly influenced the loading and microstructure of the TiO2 film.The TiO2 loading could be accurately controlled by ethanol addition and the TiO2 coating time.A mechanism for the TiO2 coating of the HGM surface is proposed.The synergistic action of hydrogen bonding and electrostatic forces resulted in close contact between the HGMs and TiO2 sol at pH 3.5.The effects of different TiO2 loading rates on the reflective and thermal insulation properties were studied.The near-infrared reflectance of 15.9%TiO2 coated on HGMs was 96.27%,and the inner surface temperature of the composite pigment coated on aluminum board was reduced by 22.4℃.The TiO2/HGM composite pigments exhibited excellent solar reflective and thermal insulation properties,so have potential in the construction of exterior walls and roofs.

Fabrication of morphology-controlled TiO_2 photocatalyst nanoparticles and improvement of photocatalytic activities by modification of Fe compounds

Our previous studies suggested that redox reaction proceeded separately on specific exposed crystal faces of TiO2 nanoparticles. Site-selective deposition of metal or metal oxide on TiO2 specific exposed crystal faces successfully proceeded using the unique reactivity properties on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles under photoexcitation. A remarkable improvement ofphotocatalytic activity of shape- controlled brookite and rutile TiO2 nanorods with modification of Fe^3＋ compounds was observed under visible light. Crystal face-selective metal compound modification on exposed crystal faces of TiO2 nanorods with brookite and futile phases was successfully prepared. Brookite and rutile TiO2 nanorods prepared by site-selective modification with metal compounds should be ideal visible-light responsive TiO2 photocatalysts because of the remarkable suppression of back electron transfer from TiO2 to oxidized metal com- pounds on the surface of the TiO2 nanorod with a brookite or rutile phase. In this paper, the development of exposed crystal face-controlled TiO2 nanorods with rutile and brookite phases was described. The obtained rutile and brookite TiO2 nanorod, showing remarkably high activity for degra- dation of organic compounds compared with the photocatalytic activities of anatase fine particles （ST-01）, is one of the most active commercially available photocatalysts for environmental cleanup in Japan. The technology of visiblelight responsive treatment for morphology-controlled rutile and brookite TiO2 nanorods by crystal face-selective modification of Fe^3＋ compounds was also discussed in this paper. The Fe^3＋ compound-modified rutile and brookite TiO2 nanorods show much higher activity than conventional visible-light responsive N-doped TiO2, which is commercially available in Japan.