Nanopillars TiO2 thin film photocatalyst application in the remediation of aquatic environment

We assessed the photocatalytic behavior of Nanopillars-TiO2 thin films obtained onto a borosilicate glass in the degradation of 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) from aqueous solution under batch reactor operations. The thin films were characterized by the XRD, SEM, AFM analytical methods. BET specific surface area and pore sizes were also obtained. The photocatalytic degradation of EE2 using the UV light was studied at wide range of physico-chemical parametric studies to determine the mechanism of degradation as well the practical implacability of the technique. The batch reactor operations were conducted at varied pH (pH 4.0 to 10.0), EE2 initial concentration (1.0 to 5.0mg/L) and presence of several interfering ions, i.e., cadmium nitrate, copper sulfate, zinc chloride, sodium chloride, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, glycine, oxalic acid and EDTA in the photocatalytic degradation of EE2. The time dependence photocatalytic degradation of EE2 was demonstrated with the pseudo-first-order rate kinetics. The mineralization of EE2 was assessed using the total organic carbon analysis conducted at varied initial pH and EE2 concentrations. Further, the repeated use of the photocatalyst enhanced the applicability of thin films in the successive photocatalytic operations.