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Effect of particle size of titanium dioxide nanoparticle aggregates on the degradation of one azo dye

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Abstract

Introduction

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticle powders have been extensively studied to quickly photodegrade some organic pollutants; however, the effect of the particle size of TiO2 nanoparticle aggregates on degradation remains unclear because microscale aggregates form once the nanoparticle powders enter into water.

Methods

The degradation of azo dye by different particle sizes of TiO2 nanoparticle aggregates controlled by NaCl concentrations was investigated to evaluate the particle size effect. Removal reactions of reactive black 5 (RB5) with TiO2 nanoparticles followed pseudo-first-order kinetics.

Results

The increase of TiO2 dosage from 40 to 70 mg/L enhanced the degradation. At doses around 100 mg/L TiO2, degradation rates decreased which could be the result of poor UV light transmittance at high-particle concentrations. At average particle sizes of TiO2 nanopowders less than around 500 nm, the degradation rates increased with decreasing particle size. As the average particle size exceeded 500 nm, the degradation rates were not significantly changed.

Conclusions

For the complete degradation experiments, the mineralization rates of total organic carbon disappearance are generally following the RB5 decolorization kinetic trend. These findings can facilitate the application of TiO2 nanoparticles to the design of photodegradation treatments for wastewater.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Science Council of Taiwan, R.O.C.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Yang-hsin Shih & Cheng-han Lin

Authors
  1. Yang-hsin Shih
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  2. Cheng-han Lin
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Correspondence to Yang-hsin Shih.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Electronic supplementary material

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Fig. S1

Structure of RB5 (DOCX 27 kb)

Fig. S2

Schematic diagram of photochemical apparatus (DOCX 28 kb)

Fig. S3

DLS analysis of 40 mg/L TiO2 nanoparticles with and without ultrasonication (DOCX 22 kb)

Fig. S4

The XRD pattern of TiO2 nanoparticles (DOCX 195 kb)

Fig. S5

The particle size change of TiO2 nanoparticle powder with time: (a) average particle size change with time by DLS, the number in parentheses means the average, (b) particle size distribution with time by DLS, up left picture for 40 meq/L, and (c) particle size observed by TEM (DOCX 644 kb)

Fig. S6

The sorption of RB5 on TiO2 nanoparticle aggregates with different particle size. The number in parentheses means average particle size (DOCX 165 kb)

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Shih, Yh., Lin, Ch. Effect of particle size of titanium dioxide nanoparticle aggregates on the degradation of one azo dye. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 1652–1658 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0669-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0669-z

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