A Brief Photocatalytic Study of ZnO Containing Cerium towards Ibuprofen Degradation

Abstract

Ibuprofen (IBU) is one of the most-sold anti-inflammatory drugs in the world, and its residues can reach aquatic systems, causing serious health and environmental problems. Strategies are used to improve the photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide (ZnO), and thosethat involvethe inclusion of metalhave received special attention. The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of the parameters and toxicity of a photoproduct using zinc oxide that contains cerium (ZnO-Ce) for the photodegradation of ibuprofen. The parameters include the influence of the photocatalyst concentration (0.5, 0.5, and 1.5 g L−1) as well as the effects of pH (3, 7, and 10), the effect of H2O2, and radical scavengers. The photocatalyst was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, Raman, X-Ray Diffraction, surface area, and diffuse reflectance. The photocatalytic activity of ibuprofen was evaluated in an aqueous solution under UV light for 120 min. The structural characterization by XRD and SEM elucidated the fact that the nanoparticle ZnO contained cerium. The band gap value was 3.31 eV. The best experimental conditions for the photodegradation of IBU were 60% obtained in an acidic condition using 0.50 g L−1 of ZnO-Ce in a solution of 20 ppm of IBU. The presence of hydrogen peroxide favored the photocatalysis process. ZnO-Ce exhibited good IBU degradation activity even after three photocatalytic cycles under UV light. The hole plays akey role in the degradation process of ibuprofen. The toxicity of photolyzed products was monitored against Artemia salina (bioindicator) and did not generate toxic metabolites. Therefore, this work provides a strategic design to improve ZnO-Ce photocatalysts for environmental remediation.

Photoresponsive Activity of the Zn0.94Er0.02Cr0.04O Compound with Hemisphere-like Structure Obtained by Co-Precipitation

“…This reagent captures electrons from the conduction band and the recombination of the e − /h + pair is difficult, favoring the photocatalytic reactions. Sá et al (2021) reported similar results and attributed them to the electron capture by Ag 0 deposited on the semiconductor surface [ 63 ]. Based on these results, a brief mechanism involved in photocatalysis of the Zn 0.94 Er 0.02 Cr 0.04 O sample is illustrated in Figure 6 .…”

Environmentally Friendly Fabrication of High-Efficient Fe-ZnO/Citric Acid-Modified Cellulose Composite and the Enhancement of Photocatalytic Activity in the Presence of H2O2

“…Another commercial TiO 2 from the Vetec company allowed for 100% degradation of IBU (10 −4 mol•dm −3 ) after 10 min of UV irradiation using a mercury lamp [42]. Also, ZnO-based photocatalysts were applied for IBU degradation, but the complete degradation of IBU was not achieved [40,43]. Relatively high photocatalytic activity of commercial BiOCl was reported by Arthur et al [44] with the use of UV light, where 100% of IBU (20 mg•dm −3 ) degradation was noticed after 20 min.…”

“…The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https: //www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/catal12111370/s1, Table S1: Examples of a current study of the photocatalytic IBU in degradation in the presence of different materials; Figure S1: Tauc plot of (a) ZnO, (b) 0.5%Fe-ZnO and (c) 0.5%Fe-ZnO-40%CAC; Table S2: Electrical energy per order for IBU degradation in the presence of selected photocatalysts during photocatalytic process and supported with H 2 O 2 ; Figure S2: Trend of first-order linearized equation used for the calculation of kinetic parameters of selected photocatalytic processes. References [40][41][42][43][44][45][46] are cited in the supplementary materials.…”

Photocatalytic degradation of metronidazole (MNZ) antibiotic by CuO nanoparticles for environmental protection from pharmaceutical pollution

“…Often, these NPs are used to synthesis composites that can be used for similar applications 22,23 . ZnO NPS have also been reported to show similar activity 24–26 . These particles are often synthesized following green synthesis routes 27,28 …”

“…22,23 ZnO NPS have also been reported to show similar activity. [24][25][26] These particles are often synthesized following green synthesis routes. 27,28 NPs þ photon energy…”