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Rapid, Photocatalytic, and Deep Debromination of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers on Pd–TiO 2 : Intermediates and Pathways
Author(s) -
Li Lina,
Chang Wei,
Wang Ying,
Ji Hongwei,
Chen Chuncheng,
Ma Wanhong,
Zhao Jincai
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201402477
Subject(s) - decabromodiphenyl ether , photocatalysis , bromine , polybrominated diphenyl ethers , diphenyl ether , selectivity , chemistry , titanium dioxide , ether , irradiation , photochemistry , inorganic chemistry , nuclear chemistry , catalysis , organic chemistry , materials science , fire retardant , metallurgy , pollutant , physics , nuclear physics
Titanium dioxide with surface‐loaded palladium (Pd–TiO 2 ) was able to easily remove all ten bromine atoms from decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209) within 1 h under the irradiation of sunlight or an artificial light source. By contrast, fewer than three bromine atoms were eliminated on the pristine TiO 2 even with prolonged irradiation (5 h). During the photocatalytic debromination, moreover, the formed BDE intermediates exhibited a significant difference between the Pd–TiO 2 and pristine TiO 2 systems, and much less position selectivity for the debromination on Pd–TiO 2 was observed than that on the pristine TiO 2 surface. For another polybrominated diphenyl ether (BDE15), pristine TiO 2 was incapable of its photocatalytic reduction, whereas the loading of Pd enabled its debromination to diphenyl ether within 20 min. In addition, an evident induction period appeared in the photocatalytic debromination of BDE15 on Pd–TiO 2 . The experiments imply that the Pd‐cocatalyzed effect changes significantly the photocatalytic reductive debromination pathways.