In this study, anatase TiO2 nano sol (TNS, TiO2 Nano-Sol) was synthesized via a simple sol-gel method under low-temperature and ambient pressure conditions using TiOCl2 as a precursor. The structural and photocatalytic properties of the TNS were systematically investigated as a function of reaction time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of the anatase crystal structure as the reaction time increased, while field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses verified the uniform formation of fine anatase nanoparticles, averaging less than 10 nm in size. The synthesized TNS sol enabled the fabrication of transparent TiO2 coatings that retained over 76 % transmittance in the visible light range, as verified by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated through methylene blue (MB) degradation experiments, which showed that degradation efficiency was enhanced with longer reaction times. Notably, the TNS-48 exhibited superior photocatalytic degradation performance, being approximately three times higher than that of TNS-1 and about twice that of the commercial P25. This study demonstrates that the TNS sol synthesized through a simple sol-gel process can achieve high transparency and excellent photocatalytic properties without requiring hightemperature and high-pressure synthesis. It is expected to be applicable in various photocatalytic fields, such as functional coatings and electrode materials.
This study was carried out to analyze water cycle characteristics and evaluate water retention function in Jeju Gotjawal forest from 2013 to 2017. The average ratio of throughfall, stemflow, interception loss in Seonhul Gotjawal (SH) and Cheongsu Gotjawal (CS) was 43.1%, 15.8%, and 41.1%, respectively. Rainfall-throughfall, rainfall-stemflow, and rainfall-interception loss were expressed as linear regression equation (p<0.001). The comparison results showed that SH was higher than CS (p<0.05), indicating that the canopy area had an important effect on the difference in stand structure. The average water resources retention rate of the Gotjawal region was 41.9%, which is similar to the total water resources retention rate (40.6%) of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (JSSGP). Currently, the development of Gotjawal is in progress in JSSGP. The development of Gotjawal will lead to a decrease in the water resources retention rate due to changes in the surface environment such as an increase in impervious areas, which will affect the total groundwater content of JSSGP. Therefore, the conservation of the Gotjawal area is judged to be very important from the point of view of water conservation.