Fabrication of TiO2-based Thin Films for Photoelectrochemical Degradation of Organic Compounds

Abstract

Overusing antibiotics in people, animals, and aquaculture significantly threatens human health and the environment. Photoelectrochemical processes are becoming more common because they mineralize organic compounds and make oxidizing species that make even small amounts of water easier to use. Therefore, an efficient nano-TiO2 photoanode thin film (PATF) was fabricated in this study for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) degradation of amoxicillin (AMX) for the first time. The TiO2 PATFs on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) were prepared using an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process with various titanium isopropoxides acetylacetone molar ratios (1:1 to 1:20) at low temperatures. The prepared films exhibited an anatase crystalline phase of TiO2 as demonstrated through XRD, Raman, and HRTEM results. The PEC oxidation of AMX was investigated using various molar ratios of TiO2 PATF/FTO by linear sweep voltammetry, and a 1:8 molar ratio of PATF showed the highest PEC oxidation activity than other TiO2 PATFs. We compared the PEC degradation efficiency of AMX with photocatalytic (PC), and electrocatalytic (EC) methods. The results showed that at 0.8 V the PEC process removed 76.2% of AMX in 120 mins, compared to 32.3% for the EC and 52.6% for the PC processes. However, at 1.0 V, The PEC degradation of AMX was improved to 91.2% for 90 mins and reached over 95% for 120 mins. The TiO2 PATF retained high photocatalytic activity after five cycles, which offers a sustainable method for degrading micropollutants in wastewater.

Date of Award	19 Dec 2023
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Matteo Chiesa (Supervisor)