UV light induced photocatalytic degradation of cyanides in aqueous solution over modified TiO2

Abstract

Metal doping was adopted to modify TiO2 (P-25) and enhance the photocatalytic degradation of harmful cyanides in aqueous solution. Ni, Cu, Co, and Ag doped TiO2 were found to be active photocatalysts for UV light induced degradation of aqueous cyanides generating cyanate, nitrate and ammonia as main nitrogen-containing products. The photoactivity of Ni doped TiO2 was greatly affected by the state of Ni, that is, the crystal size and the degree of reduction of Ni. The modification effects of some mixed oxides, that is, Ni-Cu/TiO2 were also studied. The activity of Ni-Cu/TiO2 for any ratio of Cu/Ni was higher than that of Ni- or Cu-doped TiO2, and the catalyst at the Cu/Ni ratio of 0.3 showed the highest activity for cyanide conversion.