Theoretical studies of arsenite adsorption and its oxidation mechanism on a perfect TiO 2 anatase (1 0 1) surface

Zhigang Wei*, Shaowen Zhang, Zhanchang Pan, Yue Liu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There are many areas in the world where the ground water has been contaminated by arsenic. TiO 2 is one of the most promising materials that can remove arsenic from groundwater supplies by the adsorption-based processes. The TiO 2 surface is capable of photo-catalytic oxidation (PCO) changing the arsenite [As(III)] to arsenate [As(V)] which is more easily absorbed by the surface, increasing the efficiency of the process. In this paper, a density functional theory calculation has been performed to investigate the adsorption of As(III) on a perfect TiO 2 anatase (1 0 1) surface. All the As(III) solution species such as H 3 AsO 3 , H 2 AsO 3 - , HAsO 3 2- and AsO 3 3- are put onto the surface with many different possible attitudes to obtain the adsorption energy. Based on the adsorption energy and the concentration of H 3 AsO 3 , H 2 AsO 3 - , HAsO 3 2- and AsO 3 3- in an aqueous solution, the bidentate binuclear (BB) adsorption configurations of H 2 AsO 3 - on the surface are more favorable at low As(III) concentrations, whereas BB form and monodentate mononuclear (MM) form may coexist at higher concentrations. By calculating H 2 AsO 3 - co-adsorption with water and oxygen, we can confirm the deep acceptor character of an adsorbed O 2 molecule which implies that surface superoxide (or hydroperoxyl radical) plays an important role during the PCO process of As(III) on TiO 2 surface.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1192-1198
Number of pages7
JournalApplied Surface Science
Volume258
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2011

Keywords

  • Absorption
  • Adsorption
  • Arsenite
  • Density functional theory

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