Microwave-assisted sol-gel synthesis of an Au-TiO2 photoanode for the advanced oxidation of paracetamol as model pharmaceutical pollutant

An Au-TiO2 photoanode on carbon cloth has been synthesized by microwave-assisted sol-gel method to treat paracetamol solutions at pH 3.0 by photocatalysis (PC), electro-oxidation (EO), photoelectrocatalysis with UVA light (PEC), solar PEC (SPEC) and hybrid methods with photoelectro-Fenton under UVA...

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Published inElectrochemistry communications Vol. 96; pp. 42 - 46
Main Authors Hernández, Rafael, Olvera-Rodríguez, Isidoro, Guzmán, Carlos, Medel, Alejandro, Escobar-Alarcón, Luis, Brillas, Enric, Sirés, Ignasi, Esquivel, Karen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.11.2018
Subjects
Electro-Fenton
Paracetamol
Photoelectrocatalysis
Sol gel
Solar photoelectro-Fenton
Titanium dioxide
Solar photoelectro-Fenton
Photoelectrocatalysis
Electro-Fenton
Paracetamol
Titanium dioxide
Sol gel
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Summary:An Au-TiO2 photoanode on carbon cloth has been synthesized by microwave-assisted sol-gel method to treat paracetamol solutions at pH 3.0 by photocatalysis (PC), electro-oxidation (EO), photoelectrocatalysis with UVA light (PEC), solar PEC (SPEC) and hybrid methods with photoelectro-Fenton under UVA (PEC + PEF) and sunlight (SPEC + SPEF) irradiation at constant anodic potential (Ean). The photoanode has been characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, HRTEM and SEM-EDS. The counter electrode was a 316L stainless steel plate, which was replaced by an air-diffusion electrode for H2O2 generation in hybrid treatments. The most powerful process was SPEC + SPEF, yielding total paracetamol removal in <30 min and 24% mineralization after 180 min, at Ean = +0.82 V. The paracetamol decay followed a pseudo-first-order kinetics in PEC. A lower rate constant was obtained upon increase of pharmaceutical concentration, showing good linear fit using a Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. [Display omitted] •New synthesis of Au-TiO2 photoanode on carbon cloth by microwave-assisted sol-gel process•Paracetamol degradation by photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) agrees with pseudo-1st-order kinetics.•Absorption of visible light in solar PEC is feasible by decoration with Au nanoparticles.•Hybrid technology: solar PEC + solar photoelectro-Fenton (SPEF) with H2O2 electrogeneration•Highest efficiency of SPEC + SPEF at Ean = +0.82 V: removal in 25 min with 24% TOC decay
ISSN:1388-2481
1873-1902
DOI:10.1016/j.elecom.2018.09.009