Synthesis of Fe- and Co-Doped TiO2 with Improved Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible Irradiation Toward Carbamazepine Degradation.

Abderrahim El Mragui,Yuliya Logvina,Omar Zegaoui,Luís Pinto Da Silva,Joaquim C.G Esteves Da Silva

doi:10.3390/ma12233874

Abderrahim El Mragui, Yuliya Logvina + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12233874

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Abstract

Pure TiO2 and Fe- and Co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) as photocatalysts were synthesized using wet chemical methods (sol-gel + precipitation). Their crystalline structure and optical properties were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible light (UV-Vis) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated through degradation of carbamazepine (CBZ) under UV-A and visible-light irradiations. The XRD and Raman analyses revealed that all synthesized nanomaterials showed only the anatase phase. The DRS results showed that the absorption edge was blue-shifted for Fe-doped TiO2 NPs. The decrease in charge recombination was evidenced from the PL investigation for both Co-doped and Fe-doped TiO2 nanomaterials. An enhancement in photocatalytic degradation of carbamazepine in aqueous suspension under both UV-A light and visible-light irradiations was observed for Fe-doped Titania NPs by comparison with pure TiO2. These results suggest that the doping cations could suppress the electron/hole recombination. Therefore, the photocatalytic activity of TiO2-based nanomaterials was enhanced.

Highlights

IntroductionThe contamination of water systems by pharmaceuticals is recognized as an environmental issue
The contamination of water systems by pharmaceuticals is recognized as an environmental issue.Those pharmaceutical compounds are discharged from private households and hospitals and reach wastewater treatment plants
The results show that, that, despite the low recombination rate of electrons and holes presented by the PL analyses and despite the low recombination rate of electrons and holes presented by the PL analyses and the band the band gap narrowing of Co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles, its photocatalytic activity under UV-A light gap narrowing of Co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles, its photocatalytic activity under UV-A light compared to pure TiO2 remained below expectations

Summary

Introduction

The contamination of water systems by pharmaceuticals is recognized as an environmental issue. Those pharmaceutical compounds are discharged from private households and hospitals and reach wastewater treatment plants. Many of these compounds cannot be fully removed by these plants and they are discharged in surface water, raising concerns about their potential ecotoxicological effects [1,2,3]. One of the pharmaceuticals frequently detected in the aquatic environment is carbamazepine (CBZ), known as Tegratol and Epitol, which is a prescription drug used extensively in the clinical treatment of epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia, and other psychiatric disorders [1,4,5,6].

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