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Influence of activated carbon upon the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under UV–vis irradiation

  • Advanced Oxidation Technologies: Advances and Challenges in IberoAmerican Countries
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Abstract

Photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) was studied on TiO2 in the presence of activated carbon (AC) prepared from the sawdust of a soft wood by physical activation under CO2 flow, by pyrolysis under N2 flow, and by chemical activation with ZnCl2 and H3PO4 under N2 flow. MB photodegradation was performed under UV and UV-visible irradiation to verify the scaling-up of the present TiO2-AC binary materials. It was verified that oxygenated surface groups on carbon were intrinsically photoactive, and a synergy effect between both solids has been estimated from the first-order apparent rate constants in the photodegradation of MB. This effect enhances the photoactivity of TiO2 up to a factor of about 9 under visible irradiation, and it was associated to the surface properties of AC.

Interaction mechanism between TiO2 and activated carbon.

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Acknowledgments

J. Matos thanks the Venezuelan Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Photocatalysis and Alternative Energies, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), 20632, Caracas, 1020-A, Venezuela

    Juan Matos, Ricmary Montaña & Eliram Rivero

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  1. Juan Matos
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  2. Ricmary Montaña
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  3. Eliram Rivero
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Correspondence to Juan Matos.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Matos, J., Montaña, R. & Rivero, E. Influence of activated carbon upon the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under UV–vis irradiation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 784–791 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2832-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2832-9

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