Insights Into the Mechanistic Assessment of Plasmon‐Induced Aqueous Degradation of Pharmaceuticals by TiO 2 /Ag Nano‐Composite
Shirley P. Onkani, Paul N. Diagboya, Samson O. Akpotu, Fanyana MtunziABSTRACT
Pharmaceutical contaminants in potable water sources are ubiquitous and have resulted in lowered water quality. Thus, two common broad‐spectrum pharmaceuticals (tetracycline‐TC and ciprofloxacin‐CPF) were comparatively photo‐degraded using Ag‐doped TiO 2 photocatalyst species containing Ag nanoparticles at 2.5, 5, and 7.5 wt%. The Ag enhanced the photocatalyst surface area and reduced the band gap energy but had no significant effect on the basic TiO 2 crystal structure. The 5 wt% Ag‐TiO 2 exhibited better optimum photocatalyst properties with enhanced degradation efficiencies for TC (up to 100%) and CPF (25%), in contrast to pure TiO 2 photocatalyst. The reusability was outstanding maintaining ≥ 89% of the degradation potential after 4 cycles. The observed optimum conditions for efficient degradation of both antibiotics by the 5 wt% Ag‐TiO 2 photocatalyst are ≈0.1 g catalyst/L, pH 9, antibiotics concentration of ≈11 mg/L and degradation time of 120 min. The photocatalyst is a promising material for application in water remediation.