The photocatalytic degradation of phenol has been tested primarily with titanium dioxide (TiO2) either alone or in combination with other materials. In this work, Mg/Al hydrotalcites prepared by two methods using inorganic (HC) or organic (HS) chemical reagents, along with mixed oxides produced by calcination of these products (HCC and HSC) were mixed with titanium isopropoxide to obtain hydroxide-TiO2 compounds (HCC-TiO2 and HSC-TiO2) to test their photocatalytic activity compared with solutions of 10 mg/L phenol (120 min, λUV=254 nm, 4 and 8 w). The materials obtained were characterized by different techniques. The results of the characterization show that TiO2 was incorporated into the mixed oxides of the calcined hydrotalcite forming the above mentioned …show more content…
The photocatalytic activity obtained indicates that the HCC-TiO2 activity is attributed to the increased phenol adsorption by hydrotalcite transferring it to the active photocatalytic phase of the impregnated TiO2 particle, while better results are obtained in HSC-TiO2 due to greater impregnation of the catalyst on the surface of the calcined hydrotalcite, reducing the screening phenomenon, achieving HSC-TiO2 degradation up to (21.0%) at 8 w. The reuse of both compounds indicated the synergy between HCC and HSC with TiO2, since in four successive separation cycles there was little reduction of activity associated primarily with the loss of material