Photocatalytic degradation of trichloroethylene over silver nanoparticles supported on TIO2

Abstract

The photocatalytic degradation of trichloroethylene over Ag nanoparticles supported on TiO2 was studied. The photocatalysts were obtained by impregnation of Ag colloids on TiO2. They were characterized by XPS, TEM and UV-vis. Ag0 nanoparticles were obtained with diameters between 2.0-3.2 nm. The photocatalysts were found to display band gap energies similar to those of pure TiO2, although the presence of Ag nanoparticles results in the formation of a plasmon resonance band in the visible range. The photocatalytic activity of the Ag/TiO2 samples to remove trichlorethylene (TCE) in gas phase was tested. With visible light, up to 60% of conversion was obtained.