Deep oxidation of toluene via combining a bifunctional catalyst with VUV photolysis

Abstract

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photolysis presents a simple and promising method for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) degradation, while the formation of abundant organic and O3 byproducts greatly limits its wide application. In this study, a bifunctional Mn/TiO2-VM catalyst was developed and combined with VUV photolysis to promote VOCs deep oxidation via simultaneously enhancing its 254 nm UV (hν254) and O3 utilization. Compared with VUV photolysis alone, VUV photolysis well cooperated with catalytic oxidation for deep toluene degradation. In addition, most of O3 byproduct was catalytically used for further deep oxidation of organic intermediates, greatly mitigating secondary pollution. The ability of strong electron transformation and O3 utilization on bifunctional Mn/TiO2-VM greatly enhance the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS, ·OH and ·O2−), which accelerate the catalytic oxidation performance. This study originally demonstrates a deep VOCs oxidation strategy via VUV photolysis-catalytic synergy and greatly promoted the deep understanding and application of VUV technology.