The role of H2O in the photocatalytic oxidation of toluene in vapour phase on anatase TiO2 catalyst

Photocatalytic oxidation of toluene has been carried out in a gas–solid regime by using polycrystalline anatase TiO2 in a fixed-bed continuous reactor. Air containing toluene and water vapours in various molar ratios was fed to the photoreactor irradiated by a medium pressure Hg lamp. Toluene was mainly photo-oxidised to benzaldehyde, and small amount of benzene, benzyl alcohol and traces of benzoic acid and phenol were also detected. In the presence of water, no decrease of photoreactivity was observed at steady-state conditions. By removing water vapour from the feed, the conversion of toluene to benzaldehyde was almost completely inhibited, and an irreversible deactivation of the catalyst occurred. FTIR investigations indicated that benzaldehyde is photoproduced on the TiO2 surface even in the absence of water vapour, but exposure of the catalyst to the UV light in a dry atmosphere results in an irreversible consumption of surface hydroxyl groups. As these species play a key role in the photoreactive process, this dehydroxylation should be the reason of the catalyst deactivation observed in the catalytic runs carried out in the absence of water vapour.