title: Photodegradation of phenol on Y2O3 surface: synergism by semiconductors.
abstract: Under UV light, phenol degrades on the surface of Y(2)O(3), an insulator, and the degradation follows first-order kinetics, depends linearly on the light intensity and slows down with pH. The efficiency of degradation is higher with UV-C light than with UV-A light. While particulate anatase TiO(2), ZnO, ZnS, Fe(2)O(3), CuO, CdO, and Nb(2)O(5) individually photodegrade phenol, each semiconductor shows synergism when present along with Y(2)O(3), indicating electron-transfer from phenol adsorbed on Y(2)O(3) to the illuminated semiconductors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar, Tamilnadu, India. karunakaranc@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Karunakaran
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dhanalakshmi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anilkumar
mesh_terms: D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D007700:Kinetics; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D010782:Photolysis; D012666:Semiconductors; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D015019:Yttrium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010636:Phenols; D015019:Yttrium; C091417:yttria