Dual adsorbent-photocatalytic Keratin-TiO 2 photocatalytic nanocomposite for trimethoprim removal from wastewater.

VILLANUEVA, MARÍA EMILIA; PUCA, MAYRA; PEREZ BRAVO, JONAS; BAFICO, JONATHAN GERMÁN; CAMPO DALL´ORTO, VIVIANA; COPELLO, GUILLERMO J

NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

Año: 2020

1144-0546

Abstract Trimethoprim is an emergent pollutant that has been found in ground water in alarming concentrations. Thus, the development of economical and efficient advanced water treatment technologies is crucially needed. In this paper, a keratin hydrogel with immersed TiO2 nanoparticles (nTiO2) was developed. The material was characterized by FT-IR and FT-Raman showing that a physical interaction between nTiO2 and keratin hydrogel took place. Dielectric spectroscopy confirmed the influence of this interaction with the keratin structure. Swelling studies showed that it depended on the media pH, being higher at basic pH values. Photocurrent measurements revealed an enhanced photocurrent of the hydrogels which may be due to the improved transition of photogenerated carriers via the porous network structure. The model pollutant was trimethoprim, an emerging pollutant. These hydrogels showed the ability to adsorb and degrade trimethoprim in the presence of simulated solar light in batch conditions for at least four cycles with no signifficant decrease in the efficiency. Experimental variables (time, temperature, pH) were studied in order to characterize the material adsorption and photodegradation performance, concluding that the temperature is a main variable to consider in the adsorption process