Improved Procedure for the Efficient Photocatalytic Decontamination of Polluted Groundwater

Pappa, R.; Cova, Umberto; Dangeli, Edoardo; Giongo, M.

doi:10.1080/09593331908616742

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The presence of dopants can red-shift this energy, 11 thus producing a more active photocatalyst at higher wave-lengths by lowering the required bandgap as evidenced by an observed shift in the absorbance onset values through UV-Vis spectroscopy. 12 The dopants we have found to be the most reactive and efficient are rare earth metal oxides based on erbium, 13 ytterbium, 14 yttrium, 15 and europium. 16 We have shown that these nanocrystalline photo-catalysts are highly effective in the oxidation of a chemical agent simulant dye, methyl orange, which is a standard general indicator of photocatalytic efficiency 17 and free radical attack processes that exist at the surface of the photocatalyst.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition of contaminants using photochemically active nanoparticles.

Zifer¹,

Kemp

Jennison

et al. 2006

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The decomposition of hazardous biological (viruses and bacteria) and non-biological (e.g., nerve agents, H 2 S, HCN) compounds can be realized using a new class of photochemically active nanoparticles that have been fine-tuned for decontamination applications. Several metal oxides (TiO 2 , ZnO, Fe 2 O 3 , WO 3 ) have demonstrated the ability to destroy contaminants upon exposure to UV light. However, to make them of practical use, improving their activity is necessary. These materials work by photoactivating water and oxygen to create highly reactive species (e.g., OH•) that readily decompose the compounds described above. This project researched developing a new class of highly photoactive materials by combining: scientific investigation into the mechanisms of photocatalysis, advanced techniques to synthesize nanoparticles, and testing the ability of these materials to destroy simulants of CBW/NTA agents. In-situ microscopy established that the photocatalytic activity occurred uniformly over a TiO 2 surface. A large number of nanomaterials were synthesized and evaluated. Two main nanoparticle synthesis routes were explored: (A) solution routes and (B) solvothermal routes. Specialized test equipment was designed and constructed. We discovered a large number of doped-TiO 2 materials that were less active than un-doped TiO 2 . However, our testing showed that several materials synthesized were more catalytically active than any un-doped material, including newly commercialized TiO 2 nanoparticles.

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