Titanium Dioxide as a Combustion-Assisting Agent

Abstract

Titanium dioxide is widely used as white pigments as well as photocatalysts. We have recently found that photocatalytic coated with polycarbonate (PC) releases a huge amount of exothermic energy in the temperature range between 200 and 400°C (ca. 1.85 kJ/g). This energy is comparable with the energy of TNT explosives. The mechanism has been studied by means of thermal measurements from the standpoint of surface reactions of powders with PC chains. The strong interaction between oxygen-deficient sites in and carbonyl groups of PC mediated by a good PC solvent is found to be a prerequisite for a release of the enormous amount of exothermic energy. The use of poor solvents for PC treatment gave no noticeable effect. The present finding suggests that PC-coated powders or related oxides work as a combustion-assisting agent in the relatively lower temperature range and can be utilized for incineration applications in order to suppress the formation of extremely toxic dioxins. © 2001 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.