Evaluation of humic acid photocatalytic degradation by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy

As confirmed by the spectroscopic evaluation of the molecular size distribution data, photocatalytic degradation of humic acid leads to the formation of lower molecular size (small fractions) and higher UV absorbing compounds. For fractions less than 10 kDa, UV254 absorbing moieties in treated humic acid samples become higher than that of raw humic acid designating the generation of new species during photocatalysis. UV-vis spectroscopic changes were also evaluated by the parameters relating to the concomitant removal of the total organic carbon as well as by the ratios using absorption values at discrete wavelengths. Moreover, the fluorescence spectra of treated humic acid samples show decreasing intensity profiles with increasing photocatalytic irradiation time.