EFFECT OF CALCINATION CONDITIONS ON PARACETAMOL PHOTODEGRADATION BY METAL (Zn, Ag, Fe) DOPED TiO2 CATALYSTS

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate paracetamol photodegradation by metal (Zn, Ag, Fe) doped TiO2 process and also examine the effects of metal/TiO2 ratio and catalyst preparation parameters on paracetamol degradation. Metal doped TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by sol gel method and all metal doped particles were affected both of calcination temperature and time. The photocatalytic activity of Ag/TiO2, Zn/TiO2 and Fe/TiO2 were found to be higher than that of pure TiO2. The results showed that Ag/TiO2 had the strong ability to degrade paracetamol, and the optimum ratio of Ag was 1% (as weight ratio). Moreover, all the photocatalysts could be reused for six times without remarkable loss of its activity. The by-products of paracetamol under the optimum conditions of Ag/TiO2 catalyst were also proposed by LC-MS-MS analysis.