Photocatalytic fixation of NOx in soils

Sánchez-Rodríguez, Antonio R.; Gómez-Álvarez, Elena; Méndez, José M.; Skiba, Ute M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8659-6092; Jones, Davey L.; Chadwick, Dave R.; del Campillo, María C.; Fernandes, Raphael BA.; Kleffmann, Jörg; Barrón, Vidal. 2023 Photocatalytic fixation of NOx in soils. Chemosphere, 338, 139576. 10, pp. 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139576

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.13957...

Abstract/Summary

Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) are important atmospheric pollutants that are directly harmful to human health. Recently in urban and industrial areas, synthetic materials have been developed and deployed to photocatalytically oxidize NOx to nitrate (NO3−) in order to improve air quality. We show that the natural presence of small amounts (≤5%) of titanium oxides, such as anatase and rutile, can also drive NOx oxidation to nitrate in soils under UV–visible irradiation. The NO uptake coefficients ranged between 0.1 × 10−6 for sandy soils to 6.4 × 10−5 in the case of tropical clay soils; the latter comparable in efficiency to current industrial man-made catalysts. This photocatalytic N-fixation mechanism offers a new strategy for NOx mitigation from the atmosphere by transforming it into nitrate, and simultaneously provides an energy efficient source of essential fertilizer to agriculture.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139576
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0045-6535
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	NOx fixation, natural photocatalysis, anatase, rutile, iron oxides
NORA Subject Terms:	Agriculture and Soil Science Atmospheric Sciences
Date made live:	09 Nov 2023 10:10 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/535764

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139576

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

0045-6535

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

NOx fixation, natural photocatalysis, anatase, rutile, iron oxides