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Synthesis of new hybrid composite based on TiO2 for photo-catalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole and pharmaceutical wastewater, optimization, performance, and reaction mechanism studies

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Abstract

In this study photo-catalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from aqueous solutions using carbon quantum dot (CQD)-decorated Cu-TiO2 was investigated. The as-prepared photo-catalyst samples were characterized by various FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, EDX, BET, and DRS techniques. The investigation of effective photo-catalytic operational parameters confirmed that the complete removal of SMX (20 mg/L) can be accomplished at pH: 6.0 and light intensity: 75 mW/cm2 over a 30-min reaction time. DRS analysis demonstrated adding CQD to the Cu-TiO2 reduced its bandgap energy from 2.97 to 2.90 eV. The photo-catalytic degradation kinetics of SMX fit well with the pseudo-first-order model. The radical trapping experiment indicates that HO• and O2•– active species were more effective species for SMX degradation, and the higher inhibition effect on the SMX degradation efficiency was assigned to O2•– ions. The water matrix species–inhibited effect in SMX removal was as follows: SO42– > Cl– > NO3– > CO3– > no ions. The synthesized photo-catalyst could be recycled after six consecutive cycles of SMX degradation with an insignificant decrease in performance. The total organic carbon (TOC) analysis suggested the mineralization of SMZ by composite photo-catalysts. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Escherichia coli remained at 12.5 mg L–1 SMX. A possible mechanism and pathway of SMX degradation in the photo-catalytic system was presented.

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Acknowledgements

This article is adapted from the PhD thesis of Roghayeh Noroozi, which was funded by the Iran University of Medical Sciences by grant number 99-2-2-18377.

Funding

We acknowledge the support of the Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (Grant No. 99–2-2–18377).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Environmental Health Technology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mitra Gholami, Mahdi Farzadkia & Roshanak Rezaei Kalantary

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Roghayeh Noroozi, Mitra Gholami, Mahdi Farzadkia & Roshanak Rezaei Kalantary

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  1. Roghayeh Noroozi
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  2. Mitra Gholami
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  3. Mahdi Farzadkia
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Contributions

Roghayeh Noroozi: Writing, Methodology, Investigation. Mitra Gholami: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing. Mahdi Farzadkia; Roshanak Rezaei Kalantary: Investigation, Writing.

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Correspondence to Mitra Gholami.

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Noroozi, R., Gholami, M., Farzadkia, M. et al. Synthesis of new hybrid composite based on TiO2 for photo-catalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole and pharmaceutical wastewater, optimization, performance, and reaction mechanism studies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 56403–56418 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19375-9

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