Photocatalytic degradation of phenol in aqueous solution by titanium dioxide coupled with magnetic field

The present study reports the photocatalytic degradation of phenol in aqueous solution by titanium dioxide coupled with magnetic field. The photocatalyst TiO2 is prepared by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal method and characterized by XRD and BET. The effect of catalyst calcination temperature and the operational parameters on phenol degradation is discussed and optimized. The optimal conditions are magnetic field intensity 0.082 T, TiO2 dosage 1.0 g L-1 and air flow rate 1000 mL min(-1). Under optimal conditions, after 240 min irradiation, the degradation of phenol can reach up to 80.6%. With 0.082 T magnetic field applied to the reaction system, 30.1% degradation rate constant enhancement was achieved compared to that without magnetic field. The results show that the photocatalytic degradation of phenol by titanium dioxide can be enhanced by coupling with magnetic field.