TiO2 nanowires membranes for the use in photocatalytic filtration processes

Ti02 nanowire membranes are multifunctional in that they provide liquid separation of contaminated water and treated water and the ability to oxidize or degrade organic pollutants. Ti02 nanowires exhibit greater photocatalytic efficiency compared to bulk materials due to the high surface area and size effects in the quantum scale. In this work, Ti02 nanowire membranes can be used as a filtration membrane and developed using an electrophoretic deposition process and characterized. The performance of the membrane is evaluated by its photoelectrochemical properties (photocurrent density vs. time, electron lifetime, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and the adsorption/photocatalytic degradation rates of a dye pollutant (congo red).