Comparative photocatalytic performance of TiO2 supported on clinoptilolite and TiO2/Salicylaldehyde-NH2-MIL-101(Cr) for degradation of pharmaceutical pollutant atenolol under UV and visible irradiations

In this research the photocatalytic degradation of atenolol by two photocatalysts prepared by TiO2 immobilized on the clinoptilolite nano particles (NCP) support and on Salicylaldehyde-NH2-MIL-101(Cr) (SN-MIL-101(Cr)) support was investigated. The synthesized photocatalysts were identified by FT-IR, DRS, XRD, SEM and BET techniques. The photodegradation of atenolol by the synthesized photocatalysts was conducted under UV irradiation and visible light. The efficiency of the degradation process was examined by measurement of the remaining atenolol concentration and by measurement of total organic carbon (TOC).The results indicated that immobilization of TiO2 on the surface of the support materials enhanced the degradation of the pollutant by the visible light. The effect was more pronounce by the SN-MIL-101(Cr) support than clinoptilolite. The band gap energy of the synthesized photocatalyst measured by DRS indicated that a significant shift to lower energy was occurred after immobilization on the surface of the supports. The degradation efficiency of 82% and 60% of atenolol was respectively obtained by TiO2/Salicylaldehyde-NH2-MIL-101(Cr) (TiO2/SN-MIL-101(Cr)) and titanium dioxide supported on clinoptilolite under visible light. The degradation process had fast kinetics and the process reached to equilibrium after 60 min. The catalyst dose needed for degradation was low for both catalysts and lower for TiO2/SN-MIL-101(Cr).