Photocatalysis enhancement by electric field: TiO2 thin film for degradation of dye X-3B.

According to the theory of photocatalysis, the efficiency of photocatalysis decreases mostly due to the recombination of photo-generated electron-hole pairs. An electric field across a photocatalyst can promote the separation of photo-generated electrons and holes and prevent them from recombination so as to enhance the efficiency of photocatalysis. And the synergetic decomposition efficiency of photocatalysis and an electric field is greater than that of the simple combine of their single efficiency. The performance of photocatalysis enhanced by electric field (PEEF) and operating conditions such as the direction of the electric field, the voltages between the two electrodes, the material of the electrodes, which may affect the efficiency of PEEF, were investigated in this paper. The results indicate that the system of PEEF abides the established theory of photocatalysis.