Radiolysis of aqueous 4-nitrophenol solution with Al2O3 or TiO2 nanoparticles

Aqueous 4-nitrophenol solutions containing TiO2 or Al2O3 nanoparticles were irradiated with electron beam. 4-nitrophenol was decomposed by the ionizing radiation process in the absence of the nanoparticles. The addition of TiO2 or Al2O3 (2 g l−1) before irradiation improved the removal of 4-nitrophenol, total organic carbon (TOC) but also nitrogen (TN). To identify the origin of the loss (catalysis or simply adsorption), TiO2 or Al2O3 nanoparticles were added after irradiation. Experiments show that the effect of the presence of TiO2 or Al2O3 during irradiation is just due to adsorption.