title: Gaseous benzene degradation by photocatalysis using ZnO + Zn2TiO4 thin films obtained by sol-gel process.
abstract: The benzene pollutant in gaseous phase was successfully degraded by using ZnO + Zn2TiO4 multicomponent oxide thin films as photocatalysts. The films were obtained with different Ti/Zn ratios (0, 0.20, 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.67, 0.84, and 1) by the sol-gel route. The initial level of benzene concentration was 110 ± 10 ppm. The process was carried out under different conditions of relative humidity (RH): 25, 50, and 80 % in a batch-type reactor, at room temperature. The results show benzene degradation near to 95 % at t = 240 min, where the multicomponent oxide semiconductor has a Ti/Zn ratio of 0.67. Meanwhile, with the TiO2 thin films, only a degradation of 70 % was reached at the same measurement conditions. This synergistic effect on the photocatalytic activity is a result of the coupling of both semiconductor oxides. An adverse effect on the photocatalytic activity was observed as the relative humidity increases.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del I.P.N., Unidad Qro., A.P. 1-798, 76001, Querétaro, Qro, México.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Hernández-García
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del I.P.N., Unidad Qro., A.P. 1-798, 76001, Querétaro, Qro, México.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Torres-Delgado
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del I.P.N., Unidad Qro., A.P. 1-798, 76001, Querétaro, Qro, México. rebeca.castanedo@yahoo.com.mx.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Castanedo-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Física, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del I.P.N., A. P. 14-740, 07360, México City, México.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zelaya-Ángel
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry*; D001554:Benzene / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D005740:Gases; D010782:Photolysis; D012666:Semiconductors; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D005740:Gases; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium; D001554:Benzene; D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: Benzene; Multicomponent oxide; Photocatalysis; Zn2TiO4; ZnO