Cu -decorated TiO2 nanoparticles as the photocatalytic material for ciprofloxacin degradation

Abstract

Efficient removal of antibiotic residues from the water using environmentally friendly and zero-waste technologies represents an emerging challenge. The increasing development of photocatalytic materials needs a comprehensive and systematic approach to understand the principles behind their performance. In this contribution, the Cu-decorated TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared using various input amounts of Cu (0.5 - 2%), employed for photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin solution (30 mg photocatalyst per 50 mL of solution), and compared to bare TiO2 at the same concentration. The observed performance improvement of investigated photocatalytic material compared to bare TiO2 upon decoration with Cu was discussed from various aspects. Some of them include: morphostructural changes (increase of active surface for photocatalysis upon reduced agglomeration), chemical effects (the improved generation and reactivity of active oxygen species upon modification of their adsorption properties), and modification of photochemical properties of the semiconductor material itself (impact of metal decoration on the band gap structure).