Titanium dioxide photocatalytic degradation of aliphatic ethers and their primary oxidation products.

摘要

Two studies were performed to obtain fundamental mechanistic information on the TiO₂ catalyzed degradation of organic substrates irradiated at 350 nm in dilute aqueous solutions under oxygenated conditions: (a) The photodecomposition of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and its intermediate products from β-oxidation, 2-methoxy-2-methylpropanol and 2-methoxy-2-methylpropanol. (b) The photodecomposition of two haloethers, bis-(2-chloroethyl) ether, and bis-(2-chloroisopropyl) ether. Controls were carried out throughout the two studies in the absence of light, and without the semiconductor in order to evaluate the role of photolysis.; The syntheses of proposed intermediate products, 2-methoxy-2-methylpropanol, 2-methoxy-2-methylpropanal, 2-methoxy-2-methylpropanoic acid, 2-chloroethyl formate, and 1-chloro-2-propyl acetate, were performed. The formation of these products in the titanium dioxide photocatalytic oxidation of the substrates of interest was also confirmed. TiO₂ photocatalysis is a very effective method for the mineralization of aliphatic ethers and their primary oxidation products.