Synthesis of Carbon-Sphere[at]TiO sub(2)/Cu Core-Shell Composites and the Studies on their Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Properties

Non-contacting (rattle-type) carbon-sphere[at]TiO sub(2)/Cu core-shell composites were prepared through the spray drying technique combined with calcinations using melamine formaldehyde (MF) microspheres as core templates, and TiO sub(2) colloid and cupric salt as shell precursors. After the calcination of the as-dried MF[at]TiO sub(2)/cupric salt core-shell spheres at elevated temperatures under nitrogen, rattle-type carbon-sphere[at]TiO2/Cu core-shell composites were derived with relative uniform sizes. Photocatalytic tests showed that the composites obtained at 550 [degrees]C exhibited higher efficiency than those obtained at 700 and 800[degrees]C and also higher than the P25 commercial TiO sub(2) for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. Antibacterial studies revealed that the rattle-type composites owned excellent antibacterial ability and were stable and reusable.