Photocatalytic oxidation of pollutants

The major objectives of this thesis are to produce thin films (potassium lanthanum titanium oxide - KLTO) via sol-gel and spin coating method and to observe the photocatalytic degradation efficiencies of the persistent compounds in wastewater under the influence of pH and light intensity. The production of advanced nanomaterials and coatings are improving day by day. Thin film photocatalysts are generated since they are more environmentalist than the particulate catalysts which are difficult to separate from water. In order to generate thin film structure; material characterization, phase analyses, elemental analyses, microstructure and film characterization were performed to evaluate structural and morphological characterization processes of the photocatalysts (KLTO). Phenol (organic matter), methylene blue (azo dye) and cyanide (inorganic matter) photocatalytic performance experiments with different pH, initial concentration, reaction time and light intensity levels were carried out in a solar box ATLAS SUNTEST CPS+ which is simulating natural solar radiation. As a result of the studies, 13 different thin films were examined and the most effective thin film photocatalysts were determined as K2La1.5Sm0.5Ti3O10. In this respect, three main parts were composed. First, pH and light intensity are selected as variables and their effects on degradation are investigated. 75.3% of degradation of phenol was achieved at pH of 7 and 750 W/m2 of light intensity. 97% of methylene blue was degraded after three hours of radiation. And, cyanide was degraded 80.2% under alkali condition. As a second step, the kinetic of methylene blue degradation was investigated and it is fitted to a first order reaction law. Finally, ANOVA test was performed for methylene blue and according to the findings; pH and light intensity were found as the significant factors for degradation of methylene blue.