Titanium Dioxide onto Polyethylene for Water Decontamination

Abstract

TiO₂ aqueous suspensions under illumination of UV range (310-400 nm UV-A) have demonstrated a big potential for water decontamination and disinfection for human consume. Separation of TiO₂ from the process is not easy. Supporting TiO₂ to a proper substrate avoid the separation step after the photocatalytic treatment. This procedure results very interesting for the manufacturing of economic decontamination devices, which could be made with lightweight and flexible materials, bringing much versatility for the design of reactors for water decontamination. Based on those requirements, supporting TiO₂ over polyethylene results ideal for that purposes due to its physicochemical properties, good transparency and low cost. In this work we evaluated different methods to support titanium dioxide nanoparticles onto polyethylene. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for structural analysis. TEMwas also used for morphology characterization. UV-Visible and infrared spectroscopy were used to study the inter band and molecular absorptions respectively. Material ability to perform photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine and bacteria (E-coli) in water, were studied. Obtained results suggest a very promissory applicability of the catalyst for water purification application in rural areas.