VOC's abatement: Photocatalytic oxidation of toluene in vapour phase on anatase TiO2 catalyst

Publisher Summary The photocatalytic oxidation of toluene in the presence of water was performed in the gas–solid regime at room temperature by using TiO2. It has been found that the presence of water was beneficial to achieve the almost complete photo-oxidation of toluene to CO2 and H2O, in fact, only very small amounts of benzaldehyde vapor that is the main product of toluene partial oxidation, were detected. Volatile organic compounds, VOC's, are an important class of air pollutants usually found in the atmosphere of all urban and industrial areas. Toluene is one of these compounds, and because of its noxious nature several strategies have been identified to reduce its presence in indoor…