Photocatalytic Degradation of Paracetamol in Aqueous Medium Using TiO2 Prepared by the Sol–Gel Method

Abstract

Two titania photocatalysts have been prepared using the sol-gel method using TiCl4 as a precursor, and two different alcohols, namely, ethanol or propanol (Et or Pr). The main aim of this work was to study the effect of the nature of the alcohol on the chemical, structural and photocatalytic properties for paracetamol photodegradation of the final solids. The TiCl4/alcohol molar ratio to obtain the corresponding alkoxides (TiEt and TiPr) was 1/10. These alkoxides were calcined at 400 °C to prepare the oxide catalysts (named as TiEt400 and TiPr400). Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) of the original samples showed the presence of anatase diffraction peaks in sample TiPr, while TiEt is a completely amorphous material. Contrary to commercial TiO2-P25, the PXRD diagrams of the calcined samples showed anatase as the exclusive crystalline phase in both solids. The specific surface area (SBET) of sample TiPr400 was larger than that of sample TiEt400, and both larger than that of TiO2-P25. The three solids have been tested in the photodegradation of paracetamol in aqueous solution. It has been established that the alcohol used influences the properties and catalytic activity of the final oxides. The synthesized solids exhibit a higher activity than commercial TiO2-P25, because of their structural characteristics and larger SBET.

Mesoporous TiO2 and Fe-containing TiO2 prepared by solution combustion synthesis as catalysts for the photodegradation of paracetamol

“…The results of the catalytic degradation of paracetamol in dark conditions were reported in Fig S5 . From the literature, the characteristic peak for the evaluation of paracetamol degradation is the one located at 243 nm (Trujillano et al 2022 ). As expected, no degradation occurred in this condition since all the samples were not active in the absence of light, due to the lack of reactive species that should be generated thanks to the interaction with the light source.…”

Recent advances in removal of pharmaceutical pollutants in wastewater using metal oxides and carbonaceous materials as photocatalysts: a review

“…Therefore, attention has focused on its removal from aqueous media following a photocatalysis approach, as described below. 79–147…”

“…Two titania photocatalysts prepared by a sol-gel method showed higher photocatalytic activity than commercial TiO 2 -P25 when tested for the photodegradation of paracetamol in aqueous solution. 79 Marizcal-Barba et al 80 studied the photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen in the presence of TiO 2 synthesized by a sol-gel method and observed its 99% degradation of acetaminophen corresponding to a pH of 10, acetaminophen concentration of 35 mg L −1 and a catalyst dose of 0.15 g of TiO 2 . Hollow mesoporous TiO 2 microspheres have also been investigated as a photocatalyst to study the degradation of acetaminophen in water owing to its large surface area and the possibility of efficient light harvesting capability.…”

Thiadiazole-Based Covalent Organic Frameworks with a Donor–Acceptor Structure: Modulating Intermolecular Charge Transfer for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Typical Emerging Contaminants

“…The negligible adsorption of paracetamol by P25 and g- C 3 N 4 has also been reported previously. 49,50 With visible-light irradiation, paracetamol remained very stable and could be hardly degraded without the addition of any photocatalyst. 51 In contrast, 36 and 40% of paracetamol was degraded by P25 (pseudo-first-order constant k = (0.35 ± 0.01) × 10 −2 min −1 ) and g-C 3 N 4 (pseudo-first-order constant k = (0.41 ± 0.04) × 10 −2 min −1 ) within 120 min under visible-light irradiation, respectively.…”