Photocatalytic activity of TiO2-embedded fluorinated transparent coating for oxidation of hydrosoluble pollutants in turbid suspensions

The photodegradative activity of titanium dioxide immobilized into a multilayered transparent fluoropolymeric matrix was studied. The photoactive coating was developed by applying a TiO2-containing fluorinated ionomeric dispersion and a perfluorinated amorphous polymer in an appropriate sequence directly on the UV source. The multilayered coating photocatalytic activity toward hydrosoluble organic pollutants was evaluated in clear as well as in highly turbid conditions obtained by dispersing barium sulfate microparticles in the polluted solution. Rhodamine B-base was chosen as reference organic pollutant. The photoabatement rates with TiO2-embedded fluorinated coating in clear solution and turbid conditions were 0.0923 min(-1) and 0.0546 min(-1), respectively. In both clear and turbid conditions, TiO2-embedded transparent coating revealed higher photocatalytic activity than merely dispersed TiO2. This behavior was particularly evident at low pollutant concentrations. In addition, catalyst immobilization prevented TiO2 separation and catalyst losses, allowing the development of a simple and efficient continuous apparatus.