Investigation of Free Radical Intermediates of Formaldehyde Photocatalytic Degradation by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

Formaldehyde was degraded with photo-catalysis by nano-titanium dioxide (TiO(2),) and 2-methyl-2-nitro-propane (MNP) was used as a spin trap (ST). The radical Intermediates in the process of reaction were Studied and a new spin adduct (ST-R) was obtained. The results of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) indicated that the intermediate of Formaldehyde degradation in aqueous solution was center dot CH(OH)(2). A new degradation mechanism was proposed.