N-doped TiO2 photo-catalyst for the degradation of 1,2-dichloroethane under fluorescent light

Abstract The photo-catalytic degradation of 1,2-dichloroethane (1, 2-DCE) using nitrogen-doped TiO2 photo-catalysts under fluorescent light irradiation was investigated. Highly pure TiO2 and nitrogen-doped TiO2 were prepared by a sol–gel method and characterized by thermo-gravimetric/differential-thermal analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results indicate that the photo-catalysts were mainly nano-size with an anatase-phase structure. The degradation reaction of 1,2-DCE was operated under visible-light irradiation, and the photo-catalytic oxidation was conducted in a batch photo-reactor with various nitrogen doping ratios (N/Ti = 0–25 mol%). The relative humidity (RH) was controlled at 0–20% and the oxygen concentration was controlled at 0–21%. The photo-degradation with nitrogen-doped TiO2 showed superior photo-catalytic activity compared to that for pure TiO2. TiO2 doped with 15 mol% nitrogen exhibited the best photo-catalytic efficiency under the tested conditions. The products from the 1,2-DCE photo-catalytic oxidation were CO2 and water; the by-products included dichloromethane, methyl chloride, ethyl chloride, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen chloride. The reaction pathway of 1,2-DCE indicates that oxygen molecules are the major factor that causes the degradation of 1,2-DCE in the gas phase.