Photodegradation of acetophenone and toluene in water by nano-TiO2 powder supported on NaX zeolite

TiO2 was supported on a porous material, like NaX zeolite, by using sol–gel method and TiCl4 as precursor. SEM of synthesized samples shows that nano titanium species are located on the external surface of the zeolite. Nano titanium species bound to the framework through Ti–O–Si bonds were also observed by IR analysis. The XRD patterns show that the supported TiO2 are crystallized in anatase form, and the intensity of the X-ray diffraction peaks increased with increasing TiO2 loading. These materials are used as photocatalyst for the degradation of acetophenone and toluene to H2O and CO2. The effect of some factors such as the pH of the photodegradation reaction, time of UV irradiation and amounts of TiO2 loading and catalyst used was investigated. The results of this work show that as photocatalyst for the degradation of acetophenone and toluene, the nano titanium oxide based on NaX zeolite is superior over the nano titanium oxide powder alone.