Extraordinary catalysis induced by titanium foil cathode plasma for degradation of water pollutant

The present paper reports a rapid and cost-effective bifunctional approach to the degradation of organic pollutants in the aqueous solution. This in situ hybrid induced photocatalytic method involves the advanced oxidation process, and photocatalytic process induced by ultraviolet radiated from the plasma discharge to improve the degradation efficiency. This powerful plasma allows the organic molecules to be cleaved either in the plasma zone or on the plasma/solution interface through hydrogen abstraction and electron transfer. Four parallel metal foil electrodes (i.e. Ta, Cu, Ti and Au coated Ti), used as cathodes in the two-electrode system, were evaluated in terms of their degradable performance to organic pollutants. It was found that the degradation rates are dependent on the electrical conduction of metal cathodes. During the discharge process, the Ti-based foil produces TiO2 particles, which then act as catalyst in the electrolyte and perform the photocatalytic process along with the plasma discharge process to degrade organic pollutants. It is of particular interest that gold nanoparticles, generated from Au coated Ti foil film during electrode discharging, are less than 5 nm in size and further enhance the TiO2 photocatalytic activity. In fact, this bifunctional plasma discharge process to the degradation of water pollutant provides an insight into more applications such as chemical conversion, water purification and dust pollution. •In situ hybrid induced photocatalytic method was proposed.•The degradation rates are dependent on the electrical conduction of cathodes.•Titanium-based metal foil plays bifunctional roles in the rapid degradation.•The Au film improves the electrical conductivity and also produces many Au NPs.•The degradation rate improved up to one order of magnitude.