Synergistic effects of TiO 2 photocatalysis in combination with Fenton-like reactions on oxidation of organic compounds at circumneutral pH

Hyung Eun Kim, Jaesang Lee, Hongshin Lee, Changha Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

83 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The integration of two different AOPs often offers synergistic reaction routes for the production of OH. In this study, synergistic production of OH was observed in the combined system of TiO 2 photocatalysis and the Fenton-like reaction, causing a drastic enhancement in the oxidation of organic compounds at circumneutral pH values. The photolytic experiments using organic substrates (i.e., phenol, benzoic acid, and methanol) and valence band hole and OH scavengers (i.e., formate and tert-butyl alcohol) show that the synergistic effects result from dual roles of iron as an electron acceptor to facilitate charge separation in TiO 2 photocatalyst and as a Fenton reagent to catalyze conversion of H 2O 2 into OH. A noteworthy observation is that the adsorption of iron onto the photoexcited TiO 2 surface possibly modifies electron transfer properties of iron toward H 2O 2 at neutral pH to convert the resultant reactive oxidant from Fe(IV) into a stronger form, likely OH.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)219-224
Number of pages6
JournalApplied Catalysis B: Environmental
Volume115-116
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012 Apr 5
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by Korea Ministry of Environment as “The Converging Technology Project” ( M111-19001-0006-0 ) and as “Eco-Innovation program (Environmental Research Laboratory)” ( 414-111-011 ).

Keywords

  • Fenton reaction
  • Hydroxyl radical
  • Neutral pH
  • Photocatalysis
  • Titanium dioxide

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Environmental Science
  • Process Chemistry and Technology

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