Synthesis, characterization, and application of N-TiO2 for photoelectrocatalytic degradation of organic compounds

• Grant number: 11/21444-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Luis Augusto Martins Ruotolo
• Grantee: Luis Augusto Martins Ruotolo
• Host Investigator: Marc A. Anderson
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), United States

Abstract

The aim of this post-doc project is the synthesis and characterization of a new photocatalyst of nitrogen-doped titanium oxide (N-TiO2) whose main purpose is to obtain photoelectrocatalytic activity in the visible radiation spectra. The photocatalyst is proposed to be prepared by ionothermal synthesis by using different proportions of a titanium source and a specific eutectic mixture containing nitrogen in order to obtain N-TiO2. The different N-TiO2 prepared will be characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), surface area (BET), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), transmission electronic spectroscopy (TEM), and UV-visible diffuse reflectance. The photoelectrocatalytic activity will be evaluate by irradiating the photocatalyst with different radiation wavelengths and applying the linear scanning voltammetry technique to measure the photocurrent of the N-TiO2 obtained with different doped levels. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity will be also evaluated measuring the oxidation extent of a standard organic compound, in our case it was chosen the oxalic acid. At the end of these experiments it is proposed to use the structural and morphological data in order to understand the photocatalytic activity of the N-TiO2. The best photocatalyst will be selected to be used in a flow photoelectrocatalytic reactor in order to evaluate the effect of mass transfer, applied potential, and irradiation wavelength on the oxidation efficiency of oxalic acid. (AU)