Environmental Science and Pollution Research

, Volume 20, Issue 9, pp 6028–6038 | Cite as

Immobilized Fe (III)-doped titanium dioxide for photodegradation of dissolved organic compounds in water

  • Isaac W. Mwangi
  • J. Catherine Ngila
  • Patrick Ndungu
  • Titus A. M. Msagati
  • Joseph N. Kamau
Research Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Photocatalytic degradation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by utilizing Fe(III)-doped TiO2 at the visible radiation range is hereby reported. The photocatalyst was immobilized on sintered glass frits with the coating done by wet method, calcinated at 500 °C and then applied in a photodegradation reactor. The addition of a transition metal dopant, Fe(III), initiated the red shift which was confirmed by UV–Vis spectroscopy, and the photocatalyst was activated by visible radiation. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that Fe(III) doping had an effect on the crystallinity of the photocatalysts. Mixtures of DOC and associated coloured solutions were degraded in first-order kinetics, showing that the degradation process was not dependent on intermediates or other species in solution. A reactor with a catalyst coating area of 12.57 cm2 was able to degrade 0.623 mg of the dissolved material per minute. Exposure of the reactor to hostile acidic conditions and repeated use did not compromise its efficiency. It was observed that the reactor regenerates itself in the presence of visible light, and therefore, it can be re-used for more than 100 runs before the performance dropped to <95 %. The results obtained indicate that the photocatalyst reactor has a great potential of application for use in tandem with biosorbent cartridges to complement water purification methods for domestic consumption.

Keywords

Immobilized photocatalyst Doped titanium dioxide Dissolved organic compounds Photodegradation Spectrophotometric red shift Kinetics 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

IW Mwangi is grateful to OPCW (Organisation for Protection of Chemical Weapons) for running cost of this project and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) for registration and bursary, the Analytical/Environmental research group for helpful discussion and Kenyatta University for granting study leave.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Isaac W. Mwangi
    • 1
    • 3
  • J. Catherine Ngila
    • 1
  • Patrick Ndungu
    • 2
  • Titus A. M. Msagati
    • 1
  • Joseph N. Kamau
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Applied ChemistryUniversity of Johannesburg, Doornfontein CampusJohannesburgSouth Africa
  2. 2.School of Chemistry & PhysicsUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalDurbanSouth Africa
  3. 3.Chemistry DepartmentKenyatta UniversityNairobiKenya

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