title: Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanowires in the degradation of p-aminobenzoic acid: A comparative study with a commercial catalyst.
abstract: The photocatalytic degradation of p-aminobenzoic acid was studied using TiO2 nanowires as the catalyst synthesized through a hydrothermal procedure. The as-synthesized TiO2 nanowires were fully characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and Raman with a very high surface area of 512 m(2) g(-1). The photocatalytic degradation of p-aminobenzoic acid was carried out under 180 min of constant radiation and the results were compared with P25 as commercial catalyst. Optimal experimental conditions were determined for TiO2 nanowires with a catalyst dosage of 1.0 g L(-1) under acidic conditions with a 20 μM p-aminobenzoic acid solution obtaining 95% of degradation. Under similar experimental conditions comparative studies were performed obtaining 98% of degradation when P25 is employed. In both systems, a pseudo first order reaction was found to provide the best correlations, with constant rates of 2.0 × 10(-2) min(-1) and 2.4 × 10(-2) min(-1) for TiO2 nanowires and P25, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Nanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo PR 00778, USA.
authors.forename: Loraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soto-Vázquez
authors.affiliation: Nanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo PR 00778, USA.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cotto
authors.affiliation: Nanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo PR 00778, USA.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ducongé
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, M-12, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morant
authors.affiliation: Nanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo PR 00778, USA. Electronic address: fmarquez@suagm.edu.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Márquez
mesh_terms: D010129:4-Aminobenzoic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium; D010129:4-Aminobenzoic Acid
keywords: Photocatalysis; TiO(2); p-Aminobenzoic acid; photodegradation