title: UV-induced photocatalytic degradation of aqueous acetaminophen: the role of adsorption and reaction kinetics.
abstract: Nanostructured titania supported on activated carbon (AC), termed as integrated photocatalytic adsorbents (IPCAs), were prepared by ultrasonication and investigated for the photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen (AMP), a common analgesic and antipyretic drug. The IPCAs showed high affinity towards AMP (in dark adsorption studies), with the amount adsorbed proportional to the TiO2 content; the highest adsorption was at 10 wt% TiO2. Equilibrium isotherm studies showed that the adsorption followed the Langmuir model, indicating the dependence of the reaction on an initial adsorption step, with maximum adsorption capacity of 28.4 mg/g for 10 % TiO2 IPCA. The effects of initial pH, catalyst amount and initial AMP concentration on the photocatalytic degradation rates were studied. Generally, the AMP photodegradation activity of the IPCAs was better than that of bare TiO2. Kinetic studies on the photocatalytic degradation of AMP under UV suggest that the degradation followed Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) kinetics, with an adsorption rate constant (K) that was considerably higher than the photocatalytic rate constant (k r), indicating that the photocatalysis of AMP is the rate-determining step during the adsorption/photocatalysis process.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavagnar, 364002, Gujarat, India.
authors.forename: Shaik
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Basha
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Keane
authors.forename: Kieran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oelgemöller
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lawler
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tobin
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morrissey
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D000327:Adsorption; D002384:Catalysis; D007700:Kinetics; D010782:Photolysis; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; C009495:titanium dioxide; D000082:Acetaminophen; D014025:Titanium