IOSR Journal of Applied Chemistry (IOSR-JAC) e-ISSN: 2278-5736.Volume 8, Issue 7 Ver. I (July. 2015), PP 36-43 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/5736-08713643 www.iosrjournals.org 36 |Page Assessing the Photo Catalytic Activity of Rutile Ore from the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria on the Degradation of Phenol in Water Moses T. Yilleng 123* , Emmanuel C. Gimba 2 , George I. Ndukwe 2 , Idris M. Bugaje 3 1 (School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University, Belfast UK) 2 (Department of Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria) 3 (Petrochemical department, National Research Institute for chemical Technology, Zaria Nigeria) Abstract: The photocatalytic actitvity of Natural rutile collected from Bauchi State in the Middle belt region of Nigeria was assessed using Phenol as probe molecule with UV irradiation. The rutile, which contains substituting metal ions with Fe 3+ as the predominant, was found to exhibit good photoactivity in UV light. The result showed that 51.7% of Phenol was photodegraded after 120min in UV light irradiation. Compared with P25 TiO 2 degrading 71.8% of phenol, the effect of reusability of the rutile was also investigated, however under recycle, rutile surface was prone to oxidation of the substituting elements which led to relatively rapid deactivation of the ore. It was demonstrated that P25 was stable. The XRD, BET, SEM, DRS UV-Vis spectra and the TEM of the Nigeria rutile samples showed that the presence of trace element affects the photocatalytic properties of the sample. Keywords: Degradation, Nigeria, Photocatalysis, Phenol, Rutile I. Introduction Titanium dioxide is known to exist in three different phases: rutile, anatase and brookite that are naturally occurring in many parts of the world, also the rutile ore has been discovered in some region of Nigeria [1-2]. Titanium dioxide has several applications one of which it is used as a photoactive semiconductor in the photocatalytic mineralization of organic recalcitrant pollutant due to its stability to corrosion, nontoxicity, photostability and cost effectiveness. Titanium dioxide is the most commonly studied photocatalyst in the area of Advanced Oxidation process. Similar to pure anatase, pure rutile, a second polymorph of TiO 2 , shows no photoactivity [3]. Fujishima and Honda in 1972 investigated the ability of TiO 2 to decompose water using visible light, after which anatase has been the most widely studied phase of Titanium dioxide in photocatalysis [4]. More also, investigation has recently been extended to rutile phase [5-6], although the reactivity of the rutile phase is fifth of anatase [6]. In contrast to rutile containing Vanadium and Iron, pure rutile shows no photoactivity [5]. However, depending on the type of elements presents in the rutile as impurity, it could show some photo activity. For example, naturally occurring rutile usually contains trace elements such as Vanadium and Iron and these elements enhance photocatalysis [7-8]. Since the mineral ore was only recently discovered in Nigeria [2], there is little information about its photo catalytic activity, which can be affected by the elemental characteristics of the rutile ore. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first effort at determining the photo catalytic properties of any rutile deposits in Nigeria. II. Experimental 2.1 Material All the reagents used for experimental studies were of analytical reagent grade. Dichloromethane, and Methanol (HPLC grade) where obtained from Sigma Aldrich UK, Titanium dioxide P25 was obtained from Degussa AG, Sodium Borohydride Powder was obtained from Lancaster Synthesis UK and Oxygen gas (99.5% Purity) was obtained from BOC UK. 2.2 Collections and Preparation of Sample The rutile samples investigated were obtained from Bauchi-state in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. The ore has a blackish color. Representative pieces of the mineral samples were collected, cleaned with acetone and made into powder using a Ball milling machine. All experiments were performed with particle size of 0.045-0.075mm.