Doping of boron in TiO2 catalyst: Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic under visible light irradiation

Abstract

A series of B-doped anatase TiO₂ catalysts have been synthesized by solvothermal method and the photocatalytic activity toward a fluoroquinolone antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) has been investigated. The results showed that the boron doping not only reduced the band gap energy, it also improved the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ towards the selected antibiotic under visible light irradiation. The effects of solution pH, catalyst dosage and the presence of process enhancer/inhibitors on the photoactivity were examined. Response surface methodology was successfully utilized to model and optimize the photocatalytic process with high correlation (R² = 0.9960). The degrees of boron doping and visible light active mechanism have also been studied. Compared with raw TiO₂ boron doped catalysts exhibit excellent photostability and photodegradation ability of ciprofloxacin under visible light irradiation.

Keywords

• Antibiotics degradation,Boron doped TiO2,Photocatalysis,Visible light

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