Abstract:© Versita Sp. z o.o. Keywords: Photocatalysis • Corticosteroid • Doped titania • Oxidation pathway • TiO Research ArticleThe research into the aqueous photocatalytic oxidation of the anti-inflammatory drug prednisolone was undertaken with P25 titanium dioxide (Evonik) and visible light-sensitive sol-gel synthesized titania-based photocatalysts containing carbon, sulphur, and iron. Possible prednisolone photocatalytic oxidation reaction pathways were proposed based on a number of oxidation by-products determined in the present study. The prednisolone adsorption properties, effects of initial prednisolone concentration, pH, usual wastewater matrix admixtures, like carbamide and sucrose, were studied. The nontoxicity of doped catalysts towards Tetrahymena thermophila, a ciliate protozoa present in the activated sludge, indicated their lower oxidative ability compared to P25, but also implied their potential application in pre-treatment of toxic hazardous materials under VIS or solar radiation before the biological degradation stage.

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Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen and oxygen production requires sacrificial electron donors, for example, organic compounds. Titanium dioxide catalysts doped with platinum, cobalt, tungsten, copper and iron were experimentally tested for the production of hydrogen, oxygen and low molecular weight hydrocarbons from aqueous solutions of humic substances (HS). Platinum-doped catalyst showed the best results in hydrogen generation, also producing methane, ethene and ethane, whereas the best oxygen production was exhibited by P25, followed by copper--and cobalt-containing photocatalysts. Iron-containing photocatalyst produced carbon monoxide as a major product. HS undergoing anoxic photocatalytic degradation produce hydrogen with minor hydrocarbons, and/or oxygen. It appears that better hydrogen yield is achieved when direct HS splitting takes place, as opposed to HS acting as electron donors for water splitting.

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