Study of phase-pure TiO2 for the removal of fluorides in water.

L.A. MEIER ; A.B. SCHVVAL; S.B. ULACCO; A.S. LORENZETTI; E. VIDAL; C. DOMINI; C.I.N. MORGADE

Materials Today Communications

Elsiever

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2022

2352-4928

The water resources available worldwide are mainly found in aquifers that are subject to various pollution. Thewide variety of possible contaminants suggests materials with nonspecific catalytic activity, among which titaniumoxide (TiO2) has been extensively investigated. On the other hand, computational chemistry makes itpossible to find explanations for experimentally observed results. It is important as a starting point, for a materialwith such versatility, the study and understanding of the activity of its pure polymorphs in relation to a givenpollutant. Since fluoride is an element present in natural water sources which are used for human consumptionall over the world, it is essential to use technology that allows its removal to reach concentrations that are notharmful to health. In the present work, the catalytic efficiency of the two most abundant polymorphs of titaniumoxide TiO2 is analyzed in a comparative way. The study carried out shows that rutile TiO2 is a good fluoridescavenger unlike anatase TiO2. Removal is an adsorptive and non-photocatalytic process. The observed behaviorcould be explained by the differences in the surface of the electric charges between both crystalline phases aswell as the different location of the ion in both structures.