Solar oxidation of toluene over Co doped nano-catalyst

Cobalt (Co) co-doped TiO₂ photo-catalysis were synthesized, characterized and tested toward solar photocatalytic oxidation of toluene (TOL). A multi-technique approach was used to characterize and relate the photo-catalytic property to photo-oxidation performance. Adding Co to TiO₂ significantly changed crystal size and surface morphology (surface area, pore-volume, and pore size), reduced the bandgap energy of TiO₂ and improved the solar photo-oxidation of TOL. Up to 96.5% of TOL conversion (% TN_conv) was achieved by using CoeTiO₂ compared with 28.5% with naked TiO₂. The maximum %TN_conv was achieved at high hydraulic retention time (HRT) 100 s, Co content in the photo-catalyst of 5 wt% and relative humidity (%RH) of 50%. The mechanism of TOL solar oxidation was related to the concentration of OH and O^- ₂ radicals produced from the generated electrons and holes on the surface of Co eTiO₂. The products formed during the photo-catalytic oxidation of TOL were mainly CO₂ and water, and minor concentration of benzene and benzaldehyde. Overall, the CoeTiO₂ could be used as a potential photo-catalyst for the oxidation of toluene in gas-phase streams on an industrial scale.

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Published in: Chemosphere
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126878