Photocatalytic degradation of phenol in aqueous solution using TiO2/Ti thin film photocatalyst

In order to clarify the respective role of the UV light, catalyst, external bias as well as their combined effects on the photodegradation process and to clarify the photocatalytic mechanism under different experimental conditions, a series of experiments were conducted in a shallow pond photoreactor with an effective volume of 100 mL using TiO2/Ti thin film prepared by anodization as photocatalyst. A 300W UV lamp(E-max = 365 nm) was used as side light source. The effect of light intensity on photocatalysis was also conducted. The results show that photocatalytic oxidation is an effective method for phenol removal from waters. The degradation rate can be improved by applying an anodic bias to the TiO2/Ti film electrode, phenol can not be decomposed under only 365 nm UV light irradiation even in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. In the range of our research, the phenol removal rate can be described in terms of pseudo-first order kinetics.