Abstract
The photocatalytic oxidation of cyanate ions in aqueous solution and in the presence of TiO 2 takes place by two different reaction pathways, depending on the solution pH. For pHs lower than 10, the main oxidation product is nitrate instead of N 2 , as reported previously. The hydrolysis of cyanate seems to be the reason for this change of mechanism with pH. NH +4 is formed by CNO - hydrolysis, and its photo-oxidation gives nitrite and nitrate. The hydrolysis rate controls the speed of the whole process, but the photo-oxidation of CNO - to N 2 appeared to be faster in a strongly basic medium. For values of pH lower than 5, NH +4 is hardly oxidized, remaining stable in solution. © 1994.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2461-2463 |
Journal | Electrochimica Acta |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 16 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1994 |
Keywords
- cyanate
- oxidation
- photocatalysis TiO 2
- semiconductor.