Title : Synthesis of TiO2 (anatase-brookite)/Ag2O/Ag2CO3 composites for photodegradation of metformin under visible light
Abstract:
The presence of pharmaceutical products such as metformin at unusual concentrations in aquatic systems can disrupt human health and the ecosystem. Photocatalytic technology using TiO2 semiconductors can fix this problem. TiO2 can be modified to become anatase-brookite and combining it with Ag2O/Ag2CO3 so that it will be able to prevent electron recombination and be active in visible light. The objective of this research is to analyze the phase composition, thermal properties, morphology, and optical properties of the TiO2 anatase-brookite/Ag2O/Ag2CO3 and determine the effect of the Ag2O/Ag2CO3 percentage on metformin photodegradation. The methods include was synthesis TiO2 anatase-brookite using a sonochemical process, synthesis TiO2/Ag2O/Ag2CO3 using sonochemical process and in situ phase transformation, characterization using XRD, FTIR, TGA, SEM-EDS, and UV-vis-DR as well as photodegradation of metformin under visible light. The result of the research showed that higher mass percentage ratio between TiO2 and Ag2O/Ag2CO3 would create more Ag2CO3 phases, the thermal stability of the composite material is better than bare materials, the morphology showed that a spherical Ag2O/Ag2CO3 surrounding agglomerated TiO2, the composite material is active in the ultraviolet region up to visible light. The best photocatalytic activity for metformin photodegradation was produced by 1:4 TiO2/Ag2O/Ag2CO3 material with a photodegradation efficiency is 58.9% under visible light.
