Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 5799-5803
Efficient Decomposition of Benzene over a β-Ga2O3 Photocatalyst under Ambient Conditions YIDONG HOU, XINCHEN WANG, LING WU, ZHENGXIN DING, AND XIANZHI FU* Research Institute of Photocatalysis, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002, China
A porous β-Ga2O3 photocatalyst has been successfully prepared. The photocatalyst was characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, TEM, UV/vis, and FTIR techniques. The photocatalytic activity of the sample was evaluated by the decomposition of benzene in air under UV light illumination and was compared with that of the commercial titania (Degussa P25) and Pt/P25. Results revealed that the synthesized Ga2O3 was porous β-Ga2O3 and was highly photoactive for mineralizing benzene and its derivatives (e.g., toluene and ethylbenzene) to CO2 under ambient conditions. The photocatalytic conversion of benzene over β-Ga2O3 was about 1 order of magnitude higher than that over P25, and no obvious deactivation of β-Ga2O3 was observed during the prolonged operation of 80 h. The high activity and long-term stability of the Ga2O3 have been ascribed to its stronger oxidative capability and higher specific surface area in comparison with P25.
1. Introduction Benzene is a widely used volatile organic chemical. It is wellknown that benzene has toxic effects on human body. Workers exposed to benzene fumes, for example, run into an increased risk of leukemia and bone-marrow toxicity (1). A recent study showed that even exposure to low levels (
