Large-Scale MOCVD Deposition of Nanostructured TiO2 on Stainless Steel Woven: A Systematic Investigation of Photoactivity as a Function of Film Thickness

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is considered as one of the most appealing options for the treatment of organic pollutants in water. However, its definitive translation into industrial practice is still very limited because of both the complexity of large-scale production of catalysts and the problems involved in handling the powder-based photocatalysts in the industrial plants. Here, we demonstrate that the MOCVD approach can be successfully used to prepare large-scale supported catalysts with a good photocatalytic activity towards dye degradation. The photocatalyst consisted of nanostructured TiO2 thin film deposited on a stainless steel mesh substrate. The film thickness, the morphological features, and the crystallographic properties of the different portions of the sample were correlated to the position in the reactor chamber and the reaction conditions. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated according to the international standard test ISO 10678:2010 based on methylene blue degradation. The photocatalytic activity is essentially constant (PMB over 40 µmol·m−2·h−1) throughout the film, except for the portion of sample placed at the very end of the reactor chamber, where the TiO2 film is too thin to react properly. It was assessed that a minimum film thickness of 250–300 nm is necessary to reach the maximum photocatalytic performance.