In situ surface formation of TiO2/Ti(NO2) hybrid nanocomposites with N2 APPJ treatment for efficient C2H4 photodegradation.

TiO2/Ti(NO2) hybrid films were prepared using N2 atmospheric pressure plasma jet treatment on TiO2 coating. The film structure and morphology have been investigated using optical emission spectra, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formed TiO2/Ti(NO2) photocatalystic thin films were applied for C2H4 photodegradation under UV irradiation. The results showed that the composite films exhibited superior photocatalytic activity over the untreated TiO2 film. The C2H4 concentration after 120 min varied from 12 to 6.2 mg/L, 6.7 mg/L, 7 mg/L for TiO2 with 1 min, 2 min and 3 min plasma treatment, respectively. In the banana storage experiment, the concentration of C2H4 was reduced from 15 to 9 ppm after 36 h with TiO2/Ti(NO2) nanocomposite film illuminated by UV light. The photocatalytic mechanism has been discussed. The composite film is able to more effectively separate the photo-excited electrons and holes, thus leading to the much high activity in C2H4 degradation. The current work has paved a way towards postharvest fruit preservation. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2019.