Abstract
The quest for Vis- or solar-active photocatalytic materials and working systems led to various solutions, aiming at high process efficiency, towards mineralization. This involves the pH-adjustment (supporting the pollutant adsorption on the photocatalyst) and the addition of electron trappers, as H2O2. While these may be effective on the process efficiency, they also can have photo-corrosion side effects, reducing the up-scaling potential.The paper presents a three-layered tandem system of SnO2/CuxS/TiO2, and proves its activity under artificial solar radiation in the phenol photodegradation. The effect of pH (3–9) is comparatively analysed considering the electrostatic interactions substrate – pollutant (based on pzc and pKa), the speciation of the oxidative species (particularly the pH-dependent equilibria) and the photocatalyst stability, evaluated based on changes in surface morphology and optical transmittance. The results show the need to optimize the photocatalytic process design with a compromise between the electrostatic attraction and the photo-corrosion conditions and outlines the neutral pH as best meeting the efficiency and stability prerequisites.
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