Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Nano- versus Micro-sized TiO2: Comparative Photoelectrochemical and Photocatalytic Studies towards Organic Pollutants Oxidation in Gas Phase

Claudia Letizia Bianchi
* ORCID logo ,
Pedro B. Fernandez
* ,
Ridha Djellabi
ORCID logo ,
Damian Monllor-Satoca
ORCID logo ,
Giuseppina Cerrato
ORCID logo ,
Lorenza Operti
,
Roberto Gomez
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 18 September 2020 / Approved: 19 September 2020 / Online: 19 September 2020 (05:11:43 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Monllor-Satoca, D.; Bonete, P.; Djellabi, R.; Cerrato, G.; Operti, L.; Gómez, R.; Bianchi, C. L. Comparative Photo-Electrochemical and Photocatalytic Studies with Nanosized TiO2 Photocatalysts towards Organic Pollutants Oxidation. Catalysts, 2021, 11, 349. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal11030349. Monllor-Satoca, D.; Bonete, P.; Djellabi, R.; Cerrato, G.; Operti, L.; Gómez, R.; Bianchi, C. L. Comparative Photo-Electrochemical and Photocatalytic Studies with Nanosized TiO2 Photocatalysts towards Organic Pollutants Oxidation. Catalysts, 2021, 11, 349. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal11030349.

Abstract

The size of TiO2 (either nanometric or micrometric) can significantly affect both its photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical properties, thus altering the photooxidation of organic pollutants in air or water. The purpose of this work is to give an account of the photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic features of some nano- and micro-sized TiO2 commercial powders towards a model reaction, the photooxidation of acetone. Cyclic voltammograms (CV) of TiO2 particulated electrodes under UV illumination experiments were carried out in either saturated O2 or N2 solutions for a direct correlation with the photocatalytic process. In addition, the effect of different reaction conditions on the photocatalytic efficiency under UV light in both aqueous and gaseous phases was also investigated. CV curves with the addition of acetone under UV light showed a negative shift of the photocurrent onset, confirming the efficient transfer of photoproduced reactive oxygen species (ROSs), e.g., hydroxyl radicals, or holes to acetone molecules. The photocatalytic experiments showed that the two nano-sized samples exhibit the best photocatalytic performance. The different photoactivity of the micro-sized samples is probably attributed to their morphological differences, affecting both the amount and distribution of free ROSs involved in the photooxidation reaction.

Keywords

nano- and micro-sized TiO2; photocatalytic efficiency; photoelectrochemical characterization; environmental remediation

Subject

Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanotechnology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Download PDF

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0
Get PDF Cite Share 0
Bookmark BibSonomy Mendeley Reddit Delicious
×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.