This study reports, the photolysis of dimethyl phthalate using 206.2 nm UV light emitted from a locally made novel microwave discharge electrodeless iodine lamp (MDEIL). Optimal preparation parameters of MDEIL were determined as follows: iodine amount, 0.5 mg; krypton pressure, 2 torr and input power, 65 W. Removal efficiency of dimethyl phthalate reached 97.5 % at 20 min irradiation time and 20 mg L -1 initial dimethyl phthalate concentration. A possible mechanism of the dimethyl phthalate photolysis may involve electron transition reactions and reactions with hydroxyl radicals. The intermediates were identified as phthalic acid and 2-hydroxyl acid methyl esters. Results from this study may help promote further studies on the feasibility of MDEIL to decompose more aqueous organic contaminants, including other refractory contaminants.

In this work, a series of active Au/NiOx catalysts were successful to prepare by tracing the concentrations of chloride in the re-dispersed aqueous solutions. By characterizations, we found that the appropriate amount of residual chloride in Au catalyst would induce Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) to locate on the edges of NiOx particles, which resulted in the active Au/NiOx-9 sample. Fine control of chloride in the aqueous solution provides a new perspective to push for addressing the controllable preparation of active heterogeneous catalysts.