Photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene on soil surfaces in the presence of nanometer anatase TiO_2 under UV-light

The effect of nanometer anatase TiO2 was investigated on the photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene on soil surfaces under a variety of conditions. After being spiked with phenanthrene, soil samples loaded with different amounts of TiO2 （0 wt.%, 1 wt.%, 2 wt.%, 3 wt.%, and 4 wt.%） were exposed to UV-light irradiation for 25 hr. The results indicated that the photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene followed the pseudo first-order kinetics. TiO2 significantly accelerated the degradation of phenanthrene with the half-life reduced from 45.90 to 31.36 hr for TiO2 loading of 0 wt.% and 4 wt.%, respectively. In addition, the effects of H202, light intensity and humic acid on the degradation of phenanthrene were investigated. The degradation of phenanthrene increased with the concentration of H202, light intensity and the concentration of humic acids. It has been demonstrated that the photocatalytic method in the presence of nanometer anatase TiO2 was a very promising technology for the treatments of soil polluted with organic substances in the future.

Plasmonic Au nanoparticles supported on both sides of Ti02 hollow spheres for maximising photocatalytic activity under visible light

A strategy of intensifying the visible light harvesting ability of anatase Ti02 hollow spheres(HSs)was developed,in which both sides of Ti02 HSs were utilised for stabilising Au nanoparticles(NPs)through the sacrificial templating method and convex surface-induced confinement.The composite structure of single Au NP yolk-Ti02 shell-Au NPs,denoted as Au@Au(Ti02,was rendered and confirmed by the transmission electron microscopy analysis.Au@Au(Ti02 showed enhanced photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue and phenol in aqueous phase under visible light surpassing that of other reference materials such as Au(Ti02 by 77%and Au@P25 by 52%,respectively,in phenol degradation.