Nano-photocatalysts for the destruction of chloro-organic compounds and bacteria in water

The article deals with a novel electrochemical method of preparing nano-photocatalysts suspended in aqueous solution and their application for water treatment from chloro-organic compounds and bacteria. The nano-photocatalysts have been electrolytically synthesized in the cell with titanium and graphite electrodes. The synthesized nano-photocatalysts based on nanocarbon-titanium composition have the active functional groups including carbonyl (>C=0), hydroxyl (-OH), carboxyl (-COOH), and photocatalytic -Ti(OH)-O-Ti(OH)- formed on the surface of carbon nanoparticles. Here, we report that the synthesized nano-photocatalysts can destroy chloro-organic compounds including dichloro-diphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), aldrin (C12H8Cl6), lindane (C6H6Cl6), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and bacteria Escherichia coli in water under UV and sunlight. In addition, the method of nano-photocatalysts detection in water has been described. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.