Study of adsorption and degradation of dimethylphthalate on TiO2-based photocatalysts

Abstract

This work studied the degradation and adsorption of dimethylphthalate (DMP) using various TiO2-based photocatalysts: TiO2 Aeroxide P25, Kronos vlp7000, Hombikat UV-100, Kemira 650 and a synthesized photocatalyst named SG750. As the photocatalysts with mixed anatase and rutile phases, P25 and SG750, showed greater activity than those of pure phase, an in-depth study was undertaken of these two catalysts in the adsorption and degradation of DMP. The degradation results were fitted with a high degree of correlation to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model and those for adsorption to the Freundlich model. The Freundlich constants showed good correlation with FTIR observations of the DMP-P25 and DMP-SG750 interactions. These two photocatalysts were additionally modified by photodeposition with Pt and Au (0.5–1.5 wt%) to study the effect of these metals on degradation and mineralization kinetics.