1 research outputs found
Photocatalytic degradation of TCE in dry and wet air conditions with TiO2 porous thin films
Porous TiO2-anatase thin films were prepared by the sol-gel route and used for the
study of the influence of structural properties in their photocatalytic activity. Sols were
prepared by using titanium isopropoxide with two types of modifier ligands, namely
acetic acid and acetyl acetone, and pore generating agents such as polyethylene glycol,
pluronic F-127 and polyethylene glycol hexadecyl ether (Brij 58). The photocatalytic
activity for the degradation of trichloroethylene in air was evaluated under ultraviolet
irradiation at different gas flows and water vapour contents. The photocatalytic activity
depends on the nature of the pore generating agent which influences the TiO2 crystallite
size and the textural properties of the final material. The samples obtained by using
acetic acid as the modifier ligand and either Brij 58 or PEG as pore the generating agent
exhibited the best photocatalytic behaviour even in the presence of high quantities of
water vapour. The direct trichloroethylene oxidation pathway to CO2 is favoured at low
water vapour contents, but an important generation of COCl2 is observed even at low
water partial pressuresThe authors are grateful to Community of Madrid (CM, Spain) for its financial support (DETOX- H2S P-AMB-000406-0505) and the concession of a CM contract (CPI/0565/2007). They are also grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (former Ministry of Science and Technology) for financial support (CTM2008-06876-C02-01 and Ramón y Cajal program).Peer reviewe