Photodecomposition of ozone sensitised by a film of titanium dioxide on glass

High levels of ozone (typically 850 ppm) are readily decomposed by semiconductor photocatalysis, using a thin film of the semiconductor titanium dioxide (Degussa P25 TiO2) cast on a glass tube, and UVA light, i.e. light of energy greater than that of the bandgap of the semiconductor (ultra-bandgap light); in the absence of this light the thermal decomposition of ozone is relatively slow. The semiconductor films show no evidence of chemical or photochemical wear with repeated use. At high levels of ozone, i.e. 100 ppm≤[O3]≤1400 ppm, the initial rate of ozone decomposition by semiconductor photocatalysis is independent of [O3], whereas, at lower ozone concentrations, i.e. 5 ppm≤[O3]≤100 ppm, the initial rate of ozone photodestruction decreases in a smooth, but non-linear, manner with decreasing [O3]. The kinetics of ozone photodecomposition fit a Langmuir–Hinshelwood type kinetic equation and the possible mechanistic implications of these results are briefly discussed.