Abstract: Photocatalytic oxidation of I^- in aqueous solution was studied in a photocatalytic reactor, in which the surface of the glass beads was covered with evenly transparent TiO₂ thin film by sol gel process. It is observed that the yield of I₂ formation is dependent on the crystal structure of the catalyst, the illumination time, the initial concentrations of I^- and H⁺. The results show that the yield of I₂ can reach 41.26% over anatase TiO₂ coated film, with photocatalyst (4.0 g) in the solution of KI (3 L), of 0.3 mol/L, of 3.0 mol/L and illumination time of 8 h.

Key words: sol-gel process, iodide, photocatalyst, titanium dioxide, photocatalytic oxidation