Adsorption and Degradation of 2-Chlorophenol by TiO₂/AC and TiO₂/CB in Photocatalytic Process

Abstract

In this work, carbonaceous materials including activated carbon (AC) and carbon black (CB) were used in an enhancement the adsorption capacity of TiO2 particles. The carbon supported TiO2 composite materials denoted as TiO2/AC and TiO2/CB were prepared by sol–gel method and used in photocatalytic process of 2-chlorophenol in aqueous solution. Results reveal that both AC and CB can increase adsorption capacity of TiO2 while AC provided highest adsorption of 2-chlorophenol on its surface. Adsorption isotherms for both materials were well explained by Freundlich equation representing a multilayer of 2-chlorophenol adsorbed on titanium dioxide surface. During the irradiation, TiO2/CB exerted highest removal efficiency and initial reaction rate in 2-chlorophenol degradation among three types of catalysts, TiO2/CB, TiO2/AC and TiO2. The mineralization of 2-chlorophenol was achieved within 200 min for both TiO2/AC and TiO2/CB catalysts.