It has been deposited titanium oxide on activated carbon (AC) in two forms as powder and as a pellet. This oxide was obtained using sol-gel process based on titanium isopropoxide and isopropyl alcohol. Nanocrystalline TiO2 anatase phase on activated carbon was obtained using an adequated thermal treatment of 325 °C by 5 h considering the thermal instability of the AC. The resulting material was characterized by spectroscopic X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray microanalyses (EDX), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurements. Activity measurements performed under UV lamp and solar irradiations have shown good results for the photo degradation of phenol in aqueous solution. For solar applications, a polyethylene terephtalate bottle containing the photocatalyts was filled up with the contaminated water and place few hours under t...

E.G. would like to thank the Peruvian Council for Science and Technology (CONCYTEC) for the Scholarship. Roberto Jorge Candal is acknowledged for the SEM characterization of the samples.

En este trabajo se muestran los estudios de desinfección y descontaminación solar de agua contenida en envases de plástico diseñados específicamente como un reactor que utiliza el efecto combinado de la banda ultravioleta-A (310 - 400 nm) y la descontaminación basada en la tecnología avanzada de oxidación denominada fotocatálisis heterogénea con óxido de titanio. Los resultados obtenidos en los análisis de propiedades de descontaminación y desinfección solar de agua en este nuevo tipo de reactor han mostrado resultados promisorios para el tratamiento de agua en zonas rurales, lográndose tratar hasta 200 L en un día de tratamiento.

A novel methodology was employed to prepare new nanocomposites with photocatalytic properties based on Ce-doped TiO2 nanoparticles arranged over a layered silicate. The catalysts were porous materials formed by exfoliated silicate layers surrounded by anatase nanoparticles. In this way, the anatase was doped by different amounts of Ce, yielding to catalysts with light absorption properties on the visible region. The photocatalytic behavior was tested for different reactions: adsorption and photocatalysis, showing outstanding and promising results for the removal of bacteria by using solar light as an energy source. The influence of the physicochemical properties of the catalyst and the reaction parameters will be studied in detail to manage new catalysts for the disinfection of drinking water.