Chemical and Structural Properties of Titanium Dioxide Modified Jordanian Zeolitic Tuffs and Their Potential for the Removal of Phenolics in Aqueous Media

Abstract

Titanium dioxide was deposited on the native Jordanian zeolitic tuff. XRF, XRD, SEM and FrIR techniques were used to characterize the chemical and structural properties of modified and unmodified samples. The zeolitic tuff supported titanium oxide was used in preliminary experi¬ments to study their interaction with aqueous phenol solution under thermal and photochemical conditions, in the presence and absence of hydrogen peroxide. The results showed that titanium oxide has interacted with zeolitic tuff and caused some structural changes. These were reflected in the surface area of the samples and their activity in the phenol reactions.