Iron(III) Phthalocyanine-Modified Titanium Dioxide:  A Novel Photocatalyst for the Enhanced Photodegradation of Organic Pollutants

Abstract

Iron(III) phthalocyanine modified titanium dioxide, FeIIIPc/TiO2, photocatalyst was prepared. The photocatalyst reveals enhanced activity for the degradation of organic pollutants as compared to nonmodified TiO2. The photodegradation of p-aminobenzoic acid (1), p-nitrobenzoic acid (2), p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (3), salicylic acid (4), and aniline (5) was found to be significantly enhanced in the presence of the FeIIIPc/TiO2 photocatalyst as compared with the nonmodified TiO2 photocatalyst. The enhanced activity of FeIIIPc/TiO2 is attributed to the cooperative functions of the two components of the photocatalyst, Iron(III) phthalocyanine and the TiO2 semiconductor in the generation of •OH radicals.

Turning lipophilic phthalocyanines/TiO2 composites into efficient photocatalysts for the conversion of CO2 into formic acid under UV–vis light irradiation

“…Taken together, these findings reinforce the view that both the semiconductor and the sensitizer component should be properly photoexcited to achieve maximum photocatalytic efficiency. According to what previously hypothesized [22][23][24], it appears likely that the beneficial effects on the photoreactivity is probably due to cooperative mechanisms induced by appropriate wavelengths.…”

Photocatalytic Performance of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Doped with Multi-metals

“…Therefore, tremendous efforts have been made to improve the photocatalytic activity of nano-TiO 2 . Currently, promising pathways involve compounding semiconductor (4,5), metal ion-doping (6,7), surface photosensitizing (8,9), surface chelating and deriving (10,11).…”

Synthesis, Characterization and Visible Photocatalytic Performance of Iron (III) Tetracarboxyphthalocyanine-Sensitized TiO2 Photocatalyst

“…What's more, phthalocyanine produces extremely reactive singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) [13,14], which can render the photocatalytic process nonselective. Recently, metal phthalocyanine-sensitized titanium dioxides have been applied for the degradation of organic dyes and other pollutants in wastewater, because of their good photocatalytic performance [15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”