Phenol degradation on the surface of mesoporous TiO2 particles via ligand-to-metal charge transfer under visible light irradiation

Abstract

Degradation behaviors of phenol from aqueous solution under the blue light irradiation were studied using a series of sol–gel prepared TiO2 particles exhibiting different blue light absorbing abilities. The phenol degradation under the blue light irradiation was most pronounced in the presence of TiO2 sample exhibiting the lowest blue light absorbing ability among the samples, showing no correlations between phenol degradation and light absorbing ability of TiO2 particles. UV-DRS analysis and scavenging experiments revealed that phenol degradation under visible light irradiation can be majorly proceed via the light absorption by the ligand-to-metal-charge-transfer (LMCT).