Boosting the photocatalytic performance of PAN-TiO2 nanostructured membranes by mechanosynthesis

Mechano-synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles have been explored for their activity towards gas-phase photodegradation of methanol. The effect of milling time over the photoactivity in terms of degradation efficiency has been studied. Titania nanopowders milled for 2 and 8 h were compared with the commercial unmilled catalyst and it has been established that there is a significant impact of milling time over the activity of the catalyst. The current study unveiled that the 2 hr milled sample performs far superior than the pristine catalyst with several order higher kinetics, while with further increase in the milling time the activity drastically reduces. Such behavior has been attributed to higher absorption of radiation as well as increased photo-carrier generation in the milled samples.