Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of nanocrystalline anatase titania for the degradation of dibutyl phosphate

Degradation of dibutyl phosphate (DBP) in aqueous solution was successfully demonstrated in this paper using nanoparticles of anatase titania. Nanocrystalline anatase titania employed for the degradation study was synthesized in house by solgel route under stirring mode using titanium ethoxide precursor. The catalyst was characterized using XRD, DRS, BET, TEM, TG–DTA and Raman spectroscopy to establish the catalytic activity and surface morphology. A cylindrical photoreactor was used for the photocatalytic experiments. 10 mg of nano anatase titania and 0.5 mL of 30 % H2O2 were used as catalysts for the degradation of 1,000 mL of 240 mg/L DBP. Ion chromatographic procedure was used for following the DBP degradation. More than 95 % of DBP degradation could be in less than 45 min and the kinetics of DBP was found to follow pseudo first order. It was demonstrated that the photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized titania was better than P-25 titania.