C-dot doping for enhanced catalytic performance of TiO/5A for toluene degradation in non-thermal plasma-catalyst system.

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is gaining attention as a powerful tool to induce various reactions. The combination of NTP with catalysts has been successfully used to degrade volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for pollution control. In this study, a series of TiO-C/5A catalysts, synthesized by carbon dots (C-dots) that decorate TiO by sol-gel and wetness impregnation methods, were incorporated with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor in a single-stage structure to degrade toluene at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. A proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometer and a CO analyzer were used to monitor the concentration variations of organic by-products and CO online. The effects of input power, mass ratio of C-dots/TiO (TiO/5A (0 wt%), TiO-C1/5A (2.5 wt%), TiO-C2/5A (5 wt%), TiO-C3/5A (10 wt%)), gas flow rate, initial concentration of toluene on the toluene degradation efficiency, and CO selectivity were studied. The plasma-catalyst hybrid system could effectively improve the energy efficiency and reaction selectivity, attaining a maximum toluene degradation efficiency of 99.6% and CO selectivity of 83.0% compared to 79.5% and 37.5%, respectively, using the conventional plasma alone. Moreover, the generation of organic by-products also declined dramatically, averaging only half as much in plasma alone. The results also indicated that the appropriate amount of C-dot doping could greatly improve the catalyst efficiency in the hybrid plasma system. This is because the interaction between C-dots and TiO favors the formation of photoelectron holes and reduces the energy band gap and the recombination rate of photogenerated electron holes, which facilitates the generation of more active species on the catalyst surface, thereby leading to a more effective degradation reaction. These observations will provide guidance for the interaction studies between NTP and catalysts, not only for the exploration of new chemical mechanisms of aromatic compounds, but also for the screening of favorable materials for the desired reactions.