Anatase vs. rutile efficiency on the photocatalytic degradation of clofibric acid under near UV to visible irradiation.

Titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) powder, a semiconductor material typically used as a photocatalyst, is prepared following an acid-catalyzed sol-gel method starting from titanium isopropoxide. The xerogel calcination temperature is used to control surface and morphological properties of the material. Materials are extensively characterized by spectroscopic, micrographic and calorimetric techniques. The different TiO(2) catalysts are used in the visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of clofibric acid, a lipid regulator drug. The photoefficiency of TiO(2) catalysts, quantified in terms of kinetic rate constant, total organic carbon removal and initial quantum yield, increases with calcination temperature up to 673 K. A further increase in the calcination temperature leads to a decline in the photoefficiency of the catalysts, which is associated with the phase transformation from anatase to rutile concomitant with an increase in crystallite dimensions. The photochemical and photocatalytic oxidation of clofibric acid follows a pseudo-first order kinetic rate law. 4-Chlorophenol, isobutyric acid, hydroquinone, benzoquinone and 4-chlorocatechol are detected as main intermediates.