title: Photocatalytic degradation of furfural in aqueous solution by N-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles.
abstract: The photocatalytic degradation of furfural in aqueous solution was investigated using N-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles under sunlight and ultraviolet radiation (N-TiO2/Sun and N-TiO2/UV) in a lab-scale batch photoreactor. The N-TiO2nanoparticles prepared using a sol-gel method were characterized using XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and SEM analyses. Using HPLC to monitor the furfural concentration, the effect of catalyst dosage, contact time, initial solution pH, initial furfural concentration, and sunlight or ultraviolet radiation on the degradation efficiency was studied. The efficiency of furfural removal was found to increase with increased reaction time, nanoparticle loading, and pH for both processes, whereas the efficiency decreased with increased furfural concentration. The maximum removal efficiencies for the N-TiO2/UV and N-TiO2/Sun processes were 97 and 78 %, respectively, whereas the mean removal efficiencies were 80.71 ± 2.08 % and 62.85 ± 2.41 %, respectively. In general, the degradation and elimination rate of furfural using the N-TiO2/UV process was higher than that using the N-TiO2/Sun process.
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences Research Center, Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Veisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Heath, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. zazoli49@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2314-3859
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zazouli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ebrahimzadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatics, Faculty of Health, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Jamshid Yazdani
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Charati
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Chemistry, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Amin Shiralizadeh
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Dezfoli
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D005662:Furaldehyde / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D013472:Sunlight; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium; D005662:Furaldehyde
keywords: Advanced oxidation process; Furfural; N-TiO2 nanoparticles; Photocatalytic degradation