Our previous results were not what we had anticipated, but we were determined to figure out a better strategy to dope our cotton to show an increase in photo-catalytic activity after carbonizing and exposing our nanocomposite under UV.
We decided to use two samples from 2 different loading techniques. Sheet “A” was loaded by allowing the TiO2 & H20 solution (1% w/v) to sonicate for 2 hours before carbonization.
Sheet “E” was carbonized after using the direct loading technique (1:1 wt. ratio) using titanium IV ethoxide, and then dried and cured.
10 ml of (20 ppm) methyl orange was added to each of the sample sheets and we recorded readings for each sample under UV and dark conditions every hour for 5 hours.
Our results showed that Sheet “E” decreased significantly in methyl orange concentrations after the first hour. Sheet “A” showed slower decrease in methyl orange, however, both sheets under dark conditions showed a small decrease in the dye. Our next step is to figure out a way to polymerize the cotton so that it will maintain its structure and not dissolve over time in the dye.