Quantitative determination of carbon in titania photocatalysts by temperature programmed oxidation method

This study was directed to the optimization of a reliable and innovative approach, for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of carbon-doped titania photocatalysts. In particular, we report an easy procedure, based on the Temperature Programmed Oxidation (TPO)method for the determination and prediction of the carbon amount on the final catalysts. The synthesized Ti(OH)4 photocatalysts were doped with different amount of succinic acid and an in-depth characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), physisorption of gas, elemental analysis, and temperature programmed oxidation (TPO). The final amounts of C, after calcinations, were determinate by TPO analysis through the setting up of a calibration curve.