X-ray induced photocatalysis on TiO2 and TiO2 nanotubes: Degradation of organics and drug release

The photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide under X-ray radiation is of great interest for biomedical applications. In the present work we explore the use of compact TiO2 layers and TiO2 nanotubes for X-ray induced photocatalysis, in particular the degradation of organics and monolayer chain scission for drug release. The radiation was done with a conventional X-ray source and doses up to 50 × 10−3 J/kg. The results show the feasibility of X-ray catalysis on TiO2 and X-ray induced monolayer chain scission by the release of surface attached Zn–porphyrin molecules. Furthermore, a higher efficiency for anatase films and nanotubes is obtained than for amorphous morphologies.