Photodegradation of 2,4-D (dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) with Rh/TiO2; comparative study with other noble metals (Ru, Pt, and Au).

In this work the effect of noble metal on the photodegradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicide using TiO2 as support was studied. The metals and concentration were: Rh, Ru, Pt and Au and 1, 0.98, 1.89, and 1.91 wt% respectively. Rhodium was taken as reference for this experiment. The samples were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-vis absorption spectra, N2 physisorption (BET Specific Surface Area), High Annular Angle Analysis Darkfield (HAADF) and Transmission Electron Microscopy Scanning (STEM), H2 chemisorption, optical emission spectroscopy with inductive coupling plasma analysis (ICP-OES), solid fluorescence, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and OH quantification. The presence of the anatase crystalline phase was mostly confirmed in all samples. The band gap decreased with the presence of metal (from 3.24 to 2.92 eV). The specific area was a function of the metal particle size. The metal particle diameter showed the following sequence Pt > Ru > Au > Rh. By XPS, TiO2 does not manifest changes in oxidation states, but when impregnated with metals, only Pt shows the highest abundance of any oxidized state (Pt2+). The presence of metal reveals less electron-hole recombination compared with titanium oxide. The results of photocatalytic activity showed that Pt and Rh are the two metals with the highest mineralization (99.0 and 98.3%, respectively).

Water remediation contaminated with MTBE using a catalytic oxidation process in batch reactor: influence of the cerium loading on the activity and CO2 selectivity.

Destruction of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in liquid phase and in a batch reactor was studied using ruthenium catalysts over alumina support, modified with different cerium loadings. Ce loading increment causes an increase in the particle size from 1.26 nm to 2.3 nm, enhancing the MTBE oxidation (at 150 °C), and the selectivity toward CO2. The high catalytic activity of Ru/ACe10 is attributed to the species Ce4+-O2--M that could favor the oxygen transfer between the catalyst surface and the adsorbed species by a redox mechanism. Thus, CeOx plays an important role in both enhancing the affinity between MTBE and catalyst during MTBE adsorption and promoting the catalytic activity for MTBE oxidation.