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Photocatalytic degradation of furfural in aqueous solution by N-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles

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Abstract

The photocatalytic degradation of furfural in aqueous solution was investigated using N-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles under sunlight and ultraviolet radiation (N-TiO2/Sun and N-TiO2/UV) in a lab-scale batch photoreactor. The N-TiO2 nanoparticles prepared using a sol-gel method were characterized using XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and SEM analyses. Using HPLC to monitor the furfural concentration, the effect of catalyst dosage, contact time, initial solution pH, initial furfural concentration, and sunlight or ultraviolet radiation on the degradation efficiency was studied. The efficiency of furfural removal was found to increase with increased reaction time, nanoparticle loading, and pH for both processes, whereas the efficiency decreased with increased furfural concentration. The maximum removal efficiencies for the N-TiO2/UV and N-TiO2/Sun processes were 97 and 78 %, respectively, whereas the mean removal efficiencies were 80.71 ± 2.08 % and 62.85 ± 2.41 %, respectively. In general, the degradation and elimination rate of furfural using the N-TiO2/UV process was higher than that using the N-TiO2/Sun process.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their thanks to the laboratory staff of the Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, and Health Sciences Research Center for their collaboration and to the Research Deputy of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences for the financial support of this study (Project No:92-1). We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health Sciences Research Center, Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Farzaneh Veisi

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Heath, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Mohammad Ali Zazouli

  3. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Mohammad Ali Ebrahimzadeh

  4. Department of Biostatics, Faculty of Health, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Jamshid Yazdani Charati

  5. Faculty of Chemistry, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran

    Amin Shiralizadeh Dezfoli

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  1. Farzaneh Veisi
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  2. Mohammad Ali Zazouli
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  3. Mohammad Ali Ebrahimzadeh
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  4. Jamshid Yazdani Charati
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Correspondence to Mohammad Ali Zazouli.

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Responsible editor: Suresh Pillai

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Veisi, F., Zazouli, M.A., Ebrahimzadeh, M.A. et al. Photocatalytic degradation of furfural in aqueous solution by N-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 21846–21860 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7199-7

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