Drastically enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of colorless aromatic pollutants over TiO2 via a charge-transfer-complex path: A correlation between chemical structure and degradation rate of the pollutants

Photocatalytic degradation of colorless aniline and phenolic pollutants was investigated over TiO2 under visible-light irradiation, which was confirmed to proceed via a charge-transfer-complex (CTC)-mediated pathway. The correlation between the chemical structure and the degradation rate of these pollutants was established experimentally and theoretically. It was found that an electron-donating substituent in benzene ring, which raises the highest occupied molecular orbital and lowers the ionization potential of the organic compound, is favorable to the CTC-mediated photodegradation of the pollutant, but an electron- withdrawing substituent has a reversed effect. The addition of sacrificial electron acceptors was adopted to enhance the degradation and mineralization of the aromatic pollutants. The increased degradation rate by 3 to 10 times suggests that the CTC-mediated photocatalytic technique has promising applications in the removal of colorless organic pollutants in the presence of sacrificial electron acceptors.

Graphical abstractCharge transfer complexes enhance the photo catalytic activity of titania for degradation of organic pollutants under visible light.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (20 K)Download as PowerPoint slide