Photochemical Studies on Degradation of Cetyl Pyridinium Chloride (Cationic Surfactant) in Aqueous Phase Using Different Photocatalysts

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

The photocatalytic process using semiconductors with a nanostructure is one of the technologies used
for the destructive oxidation of organic compounds such as surfactants. In this paper, the
photocatalytic degradation of Cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC), was investigated in aqueous phase
using various semiconductors such as titanium dioxide (Ti02), zinc oxide (ZnO), stannic oxide
(Sn02). The degradation was studied under different conditions including the amount of
photocatalyst, pH of the system, initial concentration and presence of anions. The results showed that
the photocatalytic degradation of CPC was strongly influenced by these parameters and the best
conditions for the photocatalytic degradation of CPC were obtained. The experimental results
indicated that maximum degradation (87%) of surfactant occurred when ZnO was used as catalyst.
The photodegradation efficiency was enhanced by increasing amount of photocatalyst, and decreases
with the increase in the initial concentration of Cetyl pyridinium chloride. Finally, the kinetics
process was studied and the photodegradation rate of CPC was found to obey pseudo-first-order
kinetics equation represented by the Langmuir—Hinshelwood model.

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Journal of Physical & Theoretical Chemistry
Volume 8, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
January 2012
Pages 51-56

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