Photocatalytic Activity of in-Situ Fe-Doped Tio2 for Natural Organic Matter Removal

Abstract

Humic acids represent a major fraction of natural organic matter (NOM) in aquatic environments. Having undefined composition and complex ill-defined structures, their presence in natural waters is undesirable. In this study, solar photocatalytic activity of synthesized Fe-doped TiO2 photocatalysts was investigated for the degradation of a 100 kDa molecular size fraction of humic acid. For this purpose, catalysts comprised of 5 different molar ratios of Fe/Ti were prepared by in-situ sol gel method and characterized by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Optimum loadings of the catalysts were determined and the kinetics of humic acid removal was investigated focusing on UV–vis spectroscopic parameters. Moreover, fluorescence techniques such as excitation-emission matrix (EEM) were also acquired for elucidating induced structural changes of humic acid during photocatalytic degradation. Results revealed that, using photocatalysts prepared by in-situ sol-gel method 20 to 25% removal of humic acid could be attained after photocatalytic treatment of 120 min.