The nitric oxide ISO photocatalytic reactor system: Measurement of NOx removal activity and capacity

•A pre-irradiation step in NO is proposed for the NO removal ISO test 22197-1:2007.•The time taken to reach HNO3 saturation (t*) is a measure of NOx removal capability.•At t*, almost all NO is converted to NO2.•At t* a measure of the photocatalytic activity can be calculated.

Although the NO removal-based air-purification ISO method ISO 22197-1:2007 is well established, its preconditioning requirements mean that only the initial activity of the photocatalyst under test is measured owing to the often-reported, gradual alteration of the surface kinetics for NO oxidation by air through the accumulation of surface HNO3. Herein, we compare the photocatalytic NO removal abilities of a number of different, common TiO2 materials, surface-saturated with photogenerated HNO3, with their behaviours observed during the typical 5 h-long ISO standard test. It is found that all the TiO2 materials studied eventually become largely NO to NO2 converters after sufficient exposure to NO under irradiation (>5 h) due to the accumulation of surface HNO3. The UV exposure time, t*, necessary to reach this HNO3 saturated condition is different for each different catalyst. As a consequence, an alternative preconditioning process for the ISO method is proposed which can be used to provide a more realistic measure of the photocatalytic activity of the underlying material and provide a measure of the NOx removing capacity of the photocatalytic material under test.

Graphical abstractAn alternative preconditioning process for the NO removal-based air-purification ISO method ISO 22197-1:2007 is proposed which can be used to provide a more realistic measure of the underlying photocatalytic activity of the material under test and a measure of its NOx removing capacity.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide