Photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen in modified TiO2 under visible irradiation

Dalida, Maria Lourdes P.; Amer, Kristine Marfe S.; Su, Chia-Chi; Lü, Mingjun

Photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen in modified TiO2 under visible irradiation

2014

Dalida, Maria Lourdes P. | Amer, Kristine Marfe S. | Su, Chia-Chi | Lü, Mingjun

This study investigated the photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen (ACT) in synthetic titanium dioxide (TiO₂) solution under a visible light (λ >440 nm). The TiO₂photocatalyst used in this study was synthesized via sol–gel method and doped with potassium aluminum sulfate (KAl(SO₄)₂) and sodium aluminate (NaAlO₂). The influence of some parameters on the degradation of acetaminophen was examined, such as initial pH, photocatalyst dosage, and initial ACT concentration. The optimal operational conditions were also determined. Results showed that synthetic TiO₂catalysts presented mainly as anatase phase and no rutile phase was observed. The results of photocatalytic degradation showed that LED alone degraded negligible amount of ACT but with the presence of TiO₂/KAl(SO₄)₂, 95 % removal of 0.10-mM acetaminophen in 540-min irradiation time was achieved. The synthetic TiO₂/KAl(SO₄)₂presented better photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen than commercially available Degussa P-25. The weak crystallinity of synthesized TiO₂/NaAlO₂photocatalyst showed low photocatalytic degradation than TiO₂/KAl(SO₄)₂. The optimal operational conditions were obtained in pH 6.9 with a dose of 1.0 g/L TiO₂/KAl(SO₄)₂at 30 °C. Kinetic study illustrated that photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen fits well in the pseudo-first order model. Competitive reactions from intermediates affected the degradation rate of ACT, and were more obvious as the initial ACT concentration increased.

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