Deactivation of TiO2 and TiO2-ZrO2 Films used for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Perchloroethylene in Gas Phase

IMOBERDORF, G.E.; ALFANO, O.M.; IRAZOQUI, H.A.; RECHE, C.; CANDAL, R.

San Diego, EE.UU.

Conferencia; 25 Years of TiO2 Photocatalysis – Retrospective and Prospective Views, The 13th International Conference on TiO2 Photocatalysis: Fundamentals and Applications (TiO2-13); 2008

Photocatalytic process have been studied during the last decade because of their potential application for eliminating pollutants present in air and water streams. Remarkable advances have been achieved regarding novel photocatalyst development, reaction mechanism elucidation, reactor modeling and optimization, among other important matters. however, there are some aspects related with this new technology that are still unknown. Among them, the gradual reduction of the photocatalytic activity that usually takes place when the reactor is operated during long periods, constitutes an important aspect to be solved. This phenomenon is particularly notable with some pollutants as halogenated solvents and related compounds. The causes and mechanisms that generate the deactivation of photocatalysts are still unclear.