Photocatalytic oxidation of Polystyrene(PS) Microplastics exposed Under a UV/TiO2/Oxidant System

초록

In this study, the surface of polystyrene (PS) was more enhancingly modified to be further agreeably degraded through the synergistic effect induced by both the TiO2 photocatalyst and the oxidizing agents of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), Periodate, or Oxone under UV irradiation conditions. The SEM results demonstrated that the surface of PS beads was more clearly decomposed when TiO2 and oxidizing agents were added compared to those of the untreated samples. In the XPS analysis, the O/C ratio increased in the order of UV, UV/TiO2, UV/TiO2/H2O2, UV/TiO2/Periodate, UV/TiO2/Oxone, with ratios of 11%, 13.9%, 25.9%, 24.3%, and 15.3%, respectively, which are consistent with the weight loss of 0%, 3%, 12%, 10%, and 5% of them. It also revealed that the addition of three different oxidizing agents decreased the extent of the C-C and C-H bonds while increasing the C-O bond, indicating that the C-C/C-H bonds on the PS surface were broken and then replaced with carbonyl compound, leading to surface oxidation. Based on this, it has been further explored to develop technologies that efficiently treat microplastics in water or wastewater, which can be a feasible solution to solve the environmental problems we face.