Morante Nicola, Monzillo Katia, Vaiano Vincenzo, Kadirova Zukhra C, Sannino Diana
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy.
Uzbekistan-Japan Innovation Center of Youth, University Street 2B, Tashkent 100095, Uzbekistan.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2025 Mar 31;15(7):530. doi: 10.3390/nano15070530.
The increasing presence of pharmaceutical contaminants, such as paracetamol, in water sources necessitates the development of efficient and sustainable treatment technologies. This study investigates the photocatalytic degradation and mineralization of paracetamol under visible light using nickel-doped titanium dioxide (Ni-TiO) catalysts synthesized via the sol-gel method. The catalysts were characterized through Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS), and surface area measurements. Ni doping enhanced the visible light absorption of TiO, reducing its band gap from 3.11 eV (undoped) to 2.49 eV at 0.20 wt.% Ni loading, while Raman analysis confirmed Ni incorporation with anatase as the predominant phase. The Ni(0.1%)-TiO catalyst exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, achieving 88% total organic carbon (TOC) removal of paracetamol (5 ppm) after 180 min under optimal conditions (catalyst dosage, 3 g L). Stability tests demonstrated 84% retained efficiency over five cycles, with a kinetic rate constant of 0.010 min. Hydroxyl radicals were identified as the main reactive species. The catalyst maintained high performance in tap water, achieving 78.8% TOC removal. These findings highlight the potential of Ni(0.1%)-TiO as a cost-effective, visible light-active photocatalyst for the removal of pharmaceutical pollutants, with promising scalability for industrial water treatment applications.
水源中对乙酰氨基酚等药物污染物的日益增多，使得开发高效且可持续的处理技术成为必要。本研究考察了采用溶胶 - 凝胶法合成的镍掺杂二氧化钛（Ni - TiO₂）催化剂在可见光下对乙酰氨基酚的光催化降解和矿化作用。通过拉曼光谱、紫外 - 可见漫反射光谱（UV - Vis DRS）和表面积测量对催化剂进行了表征。镍掺杂增强了TiO₂对可见光的吸收，在镍负载量为0.20 wt.%时，其带隙从3.11 eV（未掺杂）降至2.49 eV，而拉曼分析证实镍以锐钛矿为主导相掺入其中。Ni(0.1%) - TiO₂催化剂表现出最高的光催化活性，在最佳条件（催化剂用量，3 g/L）下，180分钟后对乙酰氨基酚（5 ppm）的总有机碳（TOC）去除率达到88%。稳定性测试表明，经过五个循环后仍保留84%的效率，动力学速率常数为0.010 min⁻¹。羟基自由基被确定为主要的活性物种。该催化剂在自来水中保持高性能，TOC去除率达到78.8%。这些发现突出了Ni(0.1%) - TiO₂作为一种具有成本效益的可见光活性光催化剂用于去除药物污染物的潜力，在工业水处理应用中具有良好的可扩展性。
