Highly active non-metals doped mixed-phase TiO 2 for photocatalytic oxidation of ibuprofen under visible light

Abstract

Abstract Visible light-activated C, N, S-tri-doped mesoporous anatase-brookite heterojunction TiO2 photocatalyst has been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The XRD and Raman spectra data revealed the formation of mixed anatase and brookite phases. The FE-SEM and TEM images demonstrated the formation of brookite phase with a rod-like structure composed of much smaller particles of anatase phase. N2 isotherm measurements exhibited that both doped and undoped TiO2 have mesoporous structure and their surface area measurements were reduced from 62 to 30 cm2 g−1after non-metals doping. The photocatalytic oxidation of the ibuprofen (IBF) has been evaluated using prepared photocatalysts under visible light. The photocatalytic activity of the mesoporous C, N and S co-doped TiO2 photocatalyst dramatically increased, achieving complete IBF degradation with an initial 1st order rate 1.779 μM min−1 for 5 h. The photonic efficiency (ξ) of IBF degradation under visible light with ABH (un-doped) and DABH (doped) photocatalysts are 0.044% and 1.84%, respectively. The reaction rate of doped photocatalyst is greater 40 times than non-doped one. The results demonstrated the advantages of the synthetic approach and the great potential of the driven visible light C, N and S co-doped TiO2 photocatalysts for the treatment of residual pharmaceuticals in contaminated water under visible light.