ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Photosensitised oxidation of a water pollutant using sulphonated porphyrin

Marta Gmurek and Jacek S. Miller

Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Lodz, ul. Wólczańska 213, 90-924 Łódź, Poland

E-mail: marta.gmurek@gazeta.pl

Abstract: Photodegradation of endocrine disrupting butylparaben (BP) in aerated aqueous solutions was studied using 4,4′,4″,4‴-(porphine-5,10,15,20-tetrayl)tetrakis(benzenesulphonic acid) (TPPS₄), as a sensitiser. Influence of various parameters, such as initial sensitiser and BP concentration, pH of the reaction solution and oxygen content in the reaction solution, on the photosensitised oxidation was examined. It was found that the dominant pathway of BP degradation occurred in the reaction with molecular singlet oxygen ¹O₂, i.e. via photosensitised oxidation mechanism of type II. Kinetic parameters of the BP reaction with ¹O₂ were estimated.

Keywords: butylparaben – 4,4′,4″,4‴-(porphine-5,10,15,20-tetrayl)tetrakis(benzenesulphonic acid) – TPPS4 – photosensitised oxidation – singlet oxygen

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-011-0103-5

Chemical Papers 66 (2) 120–128 (2012)