Zeolite-Loaded Titanium Dioxide Photocatalytic Cement-Based Materials for Efficient Degradation of Drinking Water Disinfection Byproduct Trichloroacetamide

Abstract

A two-step method was used to load TiO2 on a cement matrix, and zeolite was chosen as intermediate support. TiO2@Zeolite composite coated photocatalytic cement-based material (PCM) was prepared. Some advanced characterization technologies including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and BET specific surface area (SSA) test were applied to characterize the physicochemical properties of as-prepared PCM. Photocatalytic degradation of trichloroacetamide (TCAcAm) was conducted to evaluate its photocatalytic efficiency. Results show that TiO2@Zeolite composite can improve the adsorption ability of PCM and TiO2 particles were dispersed on the surface of PCM homogeneously providing abundant active sites for photocatalytic reactions. Moreover, TiO2@Zeolite composite can reduce the negative effect of cement on TiO2. The synergetic effect of TiO2@Zeolite composite can remarkably improve the photocatalytic degradation rate, reaching up to 97.8%. TiO2@Zeolite composite coated PCM holds great promise to eliminate water pollution.