Titanium dioxide onto polyethylene for water decontamination

SILVIA PONCE; EDWARD CARPIO; JACKELINE VENERO; WALTER ESTRADA; JUAN RODRÍGUEZ; CECILIA RECHE; ROBERTO CANDAL

JOurnal of Advanced Oxidation Technologies

Science & Technology Network, Inc

Lugar: Toronto; Año: 2009 vol. 12 p. 81 - 86

1203-8407

TiO2 aqueous suspensions under illumination of UV range (310-400 nm UV-A) have been demonstrated a big potential for water decontamination and disinfection for human consume. Separation of TiO2 from the process is not easy. Supporting TiO2 to a proper substrate, avoid the separation step after the treatment process resulting very interested for the manufacturing of economic decontamination devices, which could be done by lightweight and flexible materials bringing much versatility for the design of reactors for water decontamination. Based on those requirements, supporting TiO2 over polyethylene result ideal for that purposes due to its physical chemical properties, good transparency and low cost.   In this work we evaluated different methods to support titanium dioxide nanoparticles onto polyethylene. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for structural analysis. TEM was also used for morphology characterization. UV-Visible and infrared spectroscopy was used to study broad a band and molecular absorptions, respectively. Material ability to perform photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine and bacteria (E-coli) in water, were studied. Obtained results shown a very promissory applicability of the catalyst for water purification application in rural areas.