As(III) Removal by Palladium-Modified Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Oxide Nanoparticle Photocatalyst

Removal of arsenic species from water by palladium-modified nitrogen-doped titanium oxide (TiON/PdO) nanoparticles was investigated with and without visible light For the first time,a high degree of As(III) removal undervisible light illumination was demonstrated on oxide photocatalysts. Over 2 orders of magnitude decrease of As(III) concentration in water was observed in 1 h as the As(Ill) concentration was reduced below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard (10 mu g/L) by TiON/PdO photocatalyst. Such an efficient removal of As(Ill) was shown to result from the combined effects of strong adsorption and photooxidation by TiON/PdO, where an enhanced photocatalytic activity under risible light illumination than nitrogen-doped titanium oxide (TiON) was derived from the strong optoelectronic coupling between PdO and TON.