Photocatalytic mineralisation of aniline derivatives in aquatic systems using semiconductor oxides

Photocatalytic degradation of aqueous solution of aniline derivatives such as ortho-nitroaniline (ONA), meta-nitroaniline (MNA), para-nitroaniline (PNA), 4-bromoaniline (4-BrA) and 2-chloroaniline (2-ClA) were carried out over ZnO or TiO2 (anatase and rutile) in a photocatalytic reactor. The observed results revealed that the order of photocatalytic activity for degradation of selected compound was ZnO > TiO2 (rutile) > TiO2 (anatase) with the ratio of the rate constants to the surface area of 3.2 x 10(-3), 1.9 x 10(-3) and 1.0 x 10(-3) respectively. The effect of some physical and chemical parameters such as amount of photocatalyst, pH, time of irradiation and solvent were studied. Degradation kinetic was according to Longmuir behaviour. Spectrophotometric methods and TOC analysis supported that aniline derivatives almost completely mineralized.