OICC Press International Nano Letters 2228-5326 3 1 (December 2013) 2013 03 21 Tailoring the photocatalytic reaction rate of a nanostructured TiO2 matrix using additional gas phase oxygen 10.1186/2228-5326-3-16 EN Mohammed Jasim Uddin Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, BD Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, US Md Mohibul Alam Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, BD Md Akhtarul Islam Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, BD Sharmin Rahman Snigda Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, BD Sreejon Das Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, BD Mohammed Mastabur Rahman Department of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, BD Md Nizam Uddin Department of Chemistry, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, BD Cindy A Morris Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, US Richard D Gonzalez Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, US Ulrike Diebold Department of Physics, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, US Tarik J Dickens Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, FAMU–FSU College of Engineering, Tallahassee, FL, 32310, US Okenwa I Okoli Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, FAMU–FSU College of Engineering, Tallahassee, FL, 32310, US Journal Article 2013 03 21 Abstract Nanostructured TiO 2 was synthesized by the sol–gel method. The titania was supported on nanoporous poly(styrene- co -divinylbenzene) (PS). The samples were characterized by several techniques (scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy). Three types of TiO 2 samples were prepared using various temperatures and were studied for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The photocatalytic efficiency of TiO 2 was observed to increase by activating the TiO 2 surface using nanoporous PS. The photocatalytic performance of the synthesized samples showed a higher performance using molecular O 2 , which was purged through the reactor.