Photoinduced electron transfer reaction of few selected organic systems in presence of titanium dioxide

Abstract

In an attempt to improve our understanding of the basic mechanisms of the degradation of aromatic pollutants, the photocatalysed reactions of five selected organic systems, namely 2-naphthoic acid ( 1), 2,6-dichloro-4-nitro aniline ( 2, dichloran), 4-nitro phenyl acetate ( 3) 1,3-dially-2-thio-urea ( 4), and 7-hydroxy-4-methyl coumarin ( 5) has been investigated in water or acetonitrile/water mixture in the presence of titanium dioxide and oxygen. An attempt has been made to identify the products formed during the photooxidation process through GC/MS analysis technique. The photolysis of 2-naphthoic acid ( 1) showed the formation of 2-formylcinnamaldehyde ( 11) and 1,2-benzenedicarboxaldehyde ( 13) whereas 2,6-dichloro-4-nitro aniline ( 2) gave rise to 2,6-dichloro-4-nitro phenol ( 14). However, the photolysis of 4-nitro phenyl acetate ( 3) yielded 4-nitrphenol ( 15). The illumination of 1,3-diallyl-2-thio-urea ( 4), on the other hand, led to the formation of 1,3-diallyl urea ( 19). Product 2,4-dihydroxy acetophenone ( 25) was identified in case of 7-hydroxy-4-methyl coumarin ( 5). The products have been identified by comparing the molecular ion and mass fragmentation peaks of the products with those reported in the GC–MS library. A probable mechanism for the formation of the products has been proposed.