In this study, we have investigated a method for the electro-chemical preparation of TiO2/ACF composites involving the electro-plating of Ti in titanium n-butoxide (TNB) electrolyte into an activated carbon fiber matrix. The surface textural properties showed that the BET surface area and the total pore volume decrease as the distribution of TiO2 on the activated carbon fiber surfaces with electro-chemical operating time. The changes in XRD patterns showed typical anatase type on the TiO2/ACF composite prepared with activated carbon fiber matrix by the electro-plating method in the TNB solution. In SEM micrographs, the titanium complex particles are uniformly distributed on and the around the fibers. And some large clusters were found when the electro-chemical operating time increases. The results of chemical elemental analysis for the TiO2/ACF composites showed that most of the spectra for these samples gave stronger peaks for carbon and Ti metal than that of any other elements. From the results of thermal analysis, it could be considered that the amounts of the TiO2 components in the composite increase with an increase of the electro-chemical operating time. Finally, the prominent photocatalytic activity of the TiO2/ACF composites between c/co and time could be attributed to both the effects of catalytic decomposition and adsorptivity between the supported TiO2 and the porous fiber matrixes.

Keywords: Activated carbon fiber, TNB, BET, XRD, SEM, EDX, TG, Photocatalytic activity