Abstract
Particulate matter is one of the most persistent global air pollutants that is causing health problems, climate disturbance and building deterioration. A sustainable technique that is able to degrade soot using (sun)light is photocatalysis. Currently, research on photocatalytic soot oxidation focusses on large band gap TiO2-based photocatalysts and thus requires the use of UV light. It would prove useful if visible light, and thus a larger fraction of the (freely available) solar spectrum, could additionally be utilised to drive this process. In this work, a visible light-active photocatalyst, WO3, is benchmarked to TiO2 under both UV and visible light. At the same time, the versatility and drastic improvement of a recently introduced digital image-based soot degradation detection method are demonstrated. An additional step correcting for non-soot related catalyst colour changes is applied, resulting in accurate detection and quantification of soot degradation for all studied photocatalysts, even for materials such as WO3 that are inherently coloured. With this study, we aim to broaden the scope of photocatalytic soot oxidation technology to visible light-active photocatalyst. Along with this study, we provide a versatile soot degradation detection methodology based on digital image analysis that is made widely applicable.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Braslavsky SE, Braun AM, Cassano AE et al (2011) Glossary of terms used in photocatalysis and radiation catalysis (IUPAC recommendations 2011). Pure Appl Chem 83:931–1014. https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-09-09-36
Chabas A, Lombardo T, Cachier H et al (2008) Behaviour of self-cleaning glass in urban atmosphere. Build Environ 43:2124–2131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2007.12.008
Chen Q, Li J, Li X et al (2012) Visible-light responsive photocatalytic fuel cell based on WO3/W photoanode and Cu2O/Cu photocathode for simultaneous wastewater treatment and electricity generation. Environ Sci Technol 46:11451–11458. https://doi.org/10.1021/es302651q
Chin P, Grant CS, Ollis DF (2009) Quantitative photocatalyzed soot oxidation on titanium dioxide. Appl Catal B Environ 87:220–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2008.09.020
Chin P, Roberts GW, Ollis DF (2007) Kinetic modeling of photocatalyzed soot oxidation on titanium dioxide thin films. Ind Eng Chem Res 46:7598–7604. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie070083t
Deng X, Yue Y, Gao Z (2002) Gas-phase photo-oxidation of organic compounds over nanosized TiO2 photocatalysts by various preparations. Appl Catal B Environ 39:135–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0926-3373(02)00080-2
deRichter R, Caillol S (2011) Fighting global warming: the potential of photocatalysis against CO2, CH4, N2O, CFCs, tropospheric O3, BC and other major contributors to climate change. J Photochem Photobiol C Photochem Rev 12:1–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2011.05.002
EEA (2016) Air quality in Europe — 2016 report. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/air-quality-in-europe-2016
Ferrero L, Bigogno A, Cefalì AM, et al (2020) On the synergy between elemental carbon and inorganic ions in the determination of the electrical conductance properties of deposited aerosols: Implications for energy applications. Appl Sci 10.https://doi.org/10.3390/app10165559
Fukumura T, Sambandan E, Yamashita H (2017) Synthesis and VOC degradation ability of a CeO2/WO3 thin-layer visible-light photocatalyst. Mater Res Bull 94:493–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2017.07.003
Hauchecorne B, Terrens D, Verbruggen S et al (2011) Elucidating the photocatalytic degradation pathway of acetaldehyde: an FTIR in situ study under atmospheric conditions. Appl Catal B Environ 106:630–638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2011.06.026
Kameya Y, Torii K, Hirai S, Kaviany M (2017) Photocatalytic soot oxidation on TiO 2 microstructured substrate. Chem Eng J 327:831–837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2017.06.094
Keulemans M, Verbruggen SW, Hauchecorne B et al (2016) Activity versus selectivity in photocatalysis: morphological or electronic properties tipping the scale. J Catal 344:221–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2016.09.033
Kim J, Choi W (2011) Platinized WO3 as an environmental photocatalyst that generates OH radicals under visible light. Environ Sci Technol 45:3183–3184. https://doi.org/10.1021/es200551x
Lee MC, Choi W (2002) Solid phase photocatalytic reaction on the Soot/TiO2 interface: the role of migrating OH radicals. J Phys Chem B 106:11818–11822. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp026617f
Lee SK, McIntyre S, Mills A (2004) Visible illustration of the direct, lateral and remote photocatalytic destruction of soot by titania. J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 162:203–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nainr.2003.07.002
Luttrell T, Halpegamage S, Tao J et al (2014) Why is anatase a better photocatalyst TiO 2 films. Sci Rep 4:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04043
Martínez DS, Cuéllar EL (2010) Synthesis and characterization of WO3 nanoparticles prepared by the precipitation method: evaluation of photocatalytic activity under vis-irradiation. Solid State Sci 12:88–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2009.10.010
Maury A, De Belie N (2010) State of the art of TiO2 containing cementitious materials: self-cleaning properties. Mater Construcción 60:33–50. https://doi.org/10.3989/mc.2010.48408
Mills A, Wang J, Crow M (2006) Photocatalytic oxidation of soot by P25 TiO2 films. Chemosphere 64:1032–1035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.01.077
Peeters H, Keulemans M, Nuyts G, et al (2020) Plasmonic gold-embedded TiO2 thin films as photocatalytic self-cleaning coatings. Appl Catal B Environ 267.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.118654
Pozo-Antonio JS, Noya-Pintos D, Sanmartín P (2020) Moving toward smart cities: evaluation of the self-cleaning properties of si-based consolidants containing nanocrystalline tio2 activated by either uv-a or uv-b radiation. Polymers (basel) 12:1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12112577
Rosli NS, Abdullah CAC, Hazan R (2018) Synthesis, characterization and investigation of photocatalytic activity of nano-titania from natural ilmenite with graphite for cigarette smoke degradation. Results Phys 11:72–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2018.08.032
Sanchez-Martinez D, Martinez-De La Cruz A, Lopez-Cuellar E (2013) Synthesis of WO3 nanoparticles by citric acid-assisted precipitation and evaluation of their photocatalytic properties. Mater Res Bull 48:691–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2012.11.024
Smits M, Chan Ck, Tytgat T et al (2013) Photocatalytic degradation of soot deposition: self-cleaning effect on titanium dioxide coated cementitious materials. Chem Eng J 222:411–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2013.02.089
Smits M, Huygh D, Craeye B, Lenaerts S (2014) Effect of process parameters on the photocatalytic soot degradation on self-cleaning cementitious materials. Catal Today 230:250–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2013.10.001
Thorsen WA, Cope WG, Shea D (2004) Bioavailability of PAHs: effects of soot carbon and PAH source. Environ Sci Technol 38:2029–2037
Van Hal M, De Almeida CR, Lenaerts S et al (2021) Gas phase photofuel cell consisting of WO3- and TiO2-photoanodes and an air-exposed cathode for simultaneous air purification and electricity generation. Appl Catal B Environ 292:120204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2021.120204
Van Hal M, Verbruggen SW, Yang X et al (2019) Image analysis and in situ FTIR as complementary detection tools for photocatalytic soot oxidation. Chem Eng J 367:269–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.02.154
Verbruggen SW, Keulemans M, Goris B et al (2016) Plasmonic ‘rainbow’ photocatalyst with broadband solar light response for environmental applications. Appl Catal B Environ 188:147–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2016.02.002
Xie S, Ouyang K (2017) Degradation of refractory organic compounds by photocatalytic fuel cell with solar responsive WO3/FTO photoanode and air-breathing cathode. J Colloid Interface Sci 500:220–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2017.04.002
Zhang Y, Liao W, Xu P, Hu Z (2012) Visible-light responsive photocatalytic fuel cell based on WO3/W photoanode and Cu2O/Cu photocathode for simultaneous wastewater treatment and electricity generation. Environ Sci Technol 46:11451–11458. https://doi.org/10.1364/n3.2013.nsa3a.38
Acknowledgements
Myrthe Van Hal acknowledges the Research Foundation–Flanders (FWO) for a doctoral fellowship (1135619N).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
MVH: conceptualisation, methodology, data acquisition, formal analysis, writing—original draft. SL: supervision, funding acquisition. SWV: supervision, funding acquisition, conceptualisation, writing—review and editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Ricardo A. Torres-Palma
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Van Hal, M., Lenaerts, S. & Verbruggen, S.W. Photocatalytic soot degradation under UV and visible light. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 22262–22272 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23804-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23804-0