Photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds in aqueous systems by transition metal doped polycrystalline TiO2

Some probe catalytic photooxidation reactions with aliphatic and aromatic organic compounds having different acid strengths, i.e. methanoic acid, ethanoic acid, benzoic acid and 4-nitrophenol, were carried out in aqueous systems by using polycrystalline TiO2 powders doped with various transition metal ions (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mo, V and W). The Co-doped powder showed to be more photoactive than the bare TiO2 for methanoic acid degradation while the behaviour of TiO2/Cu and TiO2/Fe was similar to that of the support. TiO2/W was the most efficient sample for the photodegradation of benzoic acid and 4-nitrophenol, TiO2 the most active powder for ethanoic acid. A tentative explanation is provided by taking into account: (i) the dissociation constants (K-a) of the different acids used as substrates; (ii) their aliphatic or aromatic nature; (iii) the points of zero charge (PZC) of the photocatalysts; (iv) their relative rate constants for photoelectron-hole recombination (k(r)) determined by femtosecond pump-probe diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.