Title | Efficiency of clay-TiO2 nanocomposites on the photocatalytic elimination of a model hydrophobic air pollutant |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2009 |
Authors | Daria Kibanova, Javiera Cervini-Silva, Hugo Destaillats |
Journal | Environmental Science and Technology |
Volume | 43 |
Pagination | 1500-1506. |
Keywords | 1:1 and 2:1 phyllosilicates, air cleaning, air contaminant, Environmental Chemistry, Exposure and Risk Group, indoor air quality, indoor environment department, photocatalysis, pollutant fate and transport modeling, titania |
Abstract | Clay-supported TiO2 photocatalysts can potentially improve the performance of air treatment technologies via enhanced adsorption and reactivity of target volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, a benchtop photocatalytic flow reactor was used to evaluate the efficiency of hectorite−TiO2 and kaolinite−TiO2, two novel composite materials synthesized in our laboratory. Toluene, a model hydrophobic VOC and a common indoor air pollutant, was introduced in the air stream at realistic concentrations, and reacted under UVA (λmax = 365 nm) or UVC (λmax = 254 nm) irradiation. The UVC lamp generated secondary emission at 185 nm, leading to the formation of ozone and other short-lived reactive species. Performance of clay−TiO2 composites was compared with that of pure TiO2 (Degussa P25), and with UV irradiation in the absence of photocatalyst under identical conditions. Films of clay−TiO2 composites and of P25 were prepared by a dip-coating method on the surface of Raschig rings, which were placed inside the flow reactor. An upstream toluene concentration of |