Photocatalytic degradation of Bisphenol-A with nano TiO2 and determination of intermediate products

In this thesis, the photocatalytic behaviours of bisphenol-A, which has been listed as one of endocrine disrupting chemicals, were carried out in Mn doped and undoped nano-TiO2 suspensions under UV and visible illumination in solar box. Catalyzers synthesized using the sol-gel method and size and morphology were characterizated by XRD, SEM, BET and particle size distribution. The photodegradation efficiency has been investigated for under the controlled processes parameters including; amount of doping Mn (1-10%), dosages of catalyzers (0.05-0.25%), irradation time (60-480 min), initial BPA concentration (10-50 mg/L), pH (2-10), intensity of light (10 000-50 000 lux) and organic-inorganic matrice effects. Maximum degradation rate of bispheno-A under the optimum conditions were higher than 90% either with UV or Visible illumination. According to Langmuir-Hinshelwood model, the results showed that the photodegradation kinetics for the destruction of BPA in water also followed the first order model- well. Efficiency of photocatalytic degradation was monitored UV-Vis spectrophotometric and TOC measurements. Based on the intermediate products identified by HPLC and LC-MS in the study, possible mechanisms for the degradation of BPA in water also proposed in the present study. Keywords: Bisphenol-A, nano TiO2, Mn doped TiO2, HPLC, LC-MS