An aerogel-based photocatalytic microreactor driven by light guiding for degradation of toxic pollutants

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68081731%3A_____%2F21%3A00549489" target="_blank" >RIV/68081731:_____/21:00549489 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894720342248?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894720342248?via%3Dihub</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.128108" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.cej.2020.128108</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

An aerogel-based photocatalytic microreactor driven by light guiding for degradation of toxic pollutants

Original language description

Efficient utilization of light in photocatalytic chemical processes requires careful optimization of the photocatalytic reactor layout to maximize the interaction between the incident light, photocatalyst and reactant molecules. Herein, we report a new type of photocatalytic flow microreactor with an integrated light guide, formed by a channel fabricated inside a hydrophobic composite aerogel monolith made of silica and titania (TiO2). The liquid-filled channel simultaneously acts as a reaction vessel and as a liquid-core optofluidic waveguide, distributing the incident light over the whole reaction volume. Anatase TiO2 nanoparticles embedded in the channel walls then serve as a photocatalyst that can efficiently interact with both the guided light and the reactant solution along the channel length. Composite aerogels were synthesized with TiO2 content between 1 and 50 wt %, retaining their interconnected mesoporous network, low refractive index, and waveguide propagation losses below3.9 dB/cm over this range of compositions. Using photocatalytic degradation of phenol an organic compound with harmful environmental effects as a model chemical reaction, the performance of the microreactor was systematically investigated. Reactant conversion was observed to increase with increasing incident light power, decreasing reactant flow rate and increasing mass fraction of TiO2 in the composite. An analytical model of the reactor/light guide system was developed that predicted successfully the scaling of the reactant conversion with the incident light power and reactant flow rate. The presented concept of aerogel-based optofluidic photocatalytic microreactors is readily scalable and possesses great potential for carrying out other photocatalytic reactions in both polar and non-polar solvents.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10306 - Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics)

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2021

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Chemical Engineering Journal

ISSN

1385-8947

e-ISSN

1873-3212

Volume of the periodical

409

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1 April

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

128108

UT code for WoS article

000618082100006

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85098938346