Abstract: Activated carbon (AC)-supported TiO2 photocatalysts (TiO2/AC) were prepared by a sol-gel method from Ti(OBu)4. The photocatalysts were characterized byX-raydiffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis, and N2 adsorption isotherm. The results indicated that AC could improve the dispersion, decrease the aggregate size, and inhibit the phase transformation of TiO2 from anatase to rutile.Ti-O-Cbonds were formed between the AC bulk and TiO2. AC had no effect on the band-gap structure and crystalline size of TiO2. The photocatalytic activity was investigated by phenol degradation. The results showed that AC could provide high reaction concentration for TiO2. TiO2/AC with a suitable AC content exhibited higher activity than naked TiO2 for low concentration phenol. Synergy coefficients observed for the catalyst with 5%, 9%, and 15% AC were 1.1, 1.5, and 1.3, respectively. Phenol removal of 95.84% was achieved even when the catalyst with 9% AC was recycled seven times.

Key words: activated carbon, titania, supported photocatalyst, sol-gel method, phenol, degradation