Removal of Paracetamol from Aqueous Solutions by Photocatalytic Ozonation over TiO2-MexOy Thin Films

Sorin Marius Avramescu; Irina Fierascu; Radu Claudiu Fierascu; Roxana Ioana Brazdis; Angel Vasile Nica; Claudia Butean; Elena Alina Olaru; Sorin Ulinici; Marian Nicolae Verziu; Anca Dumitru

doi:10.3390/nano12040613

Removal of Paracetamol from Aqueous Solutions by Photocatalytic Ozonation over TiO₂-Me_xO_y Thin Films

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2022 Feb 11;12(4):613. doi: 10.3390/nano12040613.

Authors

Sorin Marius Avramescu^{1

2}, Irina Fierascu^{3

4}, Radu Claudiu Fierascu^{3

5}, Roxana Ioana Brazdis^{3

5}, Angel Vasile Nica², Claudia Butean⁶, Elena Alina Olaru², Sorin Ulinici⁷, Marian Nicolae Verziu⁸, Anca Dumitru⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Catalysis, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest, 050663 Bucharest, Romania.
² PROTMED Research Centre, University of Bucharest, 050107 Bucharest, Romania.
³ Emerging Nanotechnologies Group, National Institute for Research & Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry-ICECHIM, 060021 Bucharest, Romania.
⁴ Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, 011464 Bucharest, Romania.
⁵ Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
⁶ Department of Chemistry and Biology, North University Centre of Baia Mare, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 430122 Baia Mare, Romania.
⁷ S.C. ICPE Bistrita S.A, 420035 Bistrita, Romania.
⁸ Department of Bioresources and Polymer Science, Advanced Polymer Materials Group, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 1-7 Gh Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
⁹ Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, 077125 Magurele, Romania.

Abstract

Analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as paracetamol, diclofenac, and ibuprofen are frequently encountered in surface and ground water, thereby posing a significant risk to aquatic ecosystems. Our study reports the catalytic performances of nanosystems TiO₂-Me_xO_y (Me = Ce, Sn) prepared by the sol-gel method and deposited onto glass slides by a dip-coating approach in the removal of paracetamol from aqueous solutions by catalytic ozonation. The effect of catalyst type and operation parameters on oxidation efficiency was assessed. In addition to improving this process, the present work simplifies it by avoiding the difficult step of catalyst separation. It was found that the thin films were capable of removing all pollutants from target compounds to the oxidation products.

Keywords: catalytic ozonation; paracetamol; photo-catalysis; thin films; titanium dioxide; water treatment.

Abstract

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