Photocatalytic reduction of Hg(II) on TiO2 and Ag/TiO2 prepared by the sol-gel and impregnation methods

摘要

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a convenient tool for mercury(II) reduction, because it uses inexpensive chemicals and near-UV light. However, structural features of titania (band gap at 3.2 eV) make extending its optical absorption in the visible region difficult. This key factor results in low photocatalytic efficiency, as about only 5 of the solar spectrum is used. This study focuses on the characterization and evaluation of the photocatalytic activity- of TiO2. The titania preparation method (commercial and sol-gel), the presence of metal on the surface of the oxide (2 wt. Ag), and the calcination temperature (350 and 500 °C) were evaluated. The characterization techniques used were: temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), determination of specific surface area (BET method), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoacoustic spectroscopy. The photocatalytic reduction of Hg~(2+) to Hg~0 was performed by aqueous solution containing formic acid. The results showed that the presence of Ag on the surface of TiO2 (commercial and sol-gel) decreased the band gap energy and increased the photoactivity efficiency, i.e., all the Hg~(2+) in the solution was reduced to Hg~0.