Photocatalytic degradation of propranolol hydrochloride using Nd-TiO_2 nanoparticles under UV and visible light

摘要

Propranolol (PRO) hydrochloride is one of the most commonly used β-blockers for cardiovascular diseases that is frequently detected in aquatic environment.Photocatalytic removal of propranolol using an efficient UV and visible light responsive neodymium (Nd)-modified photoctaalyst has been investigated.Nd-TiO_2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple ultrasonic method with Nd-modified in the range of 0-1.0 mol% to evaluate the effects of Nd~(3+) content in crystal structure and photocatalytic activity.The TiO_2-Nd 0.10% sample was the most efficient photocatalyst to degrade PRO with 95% and 90% degradation after 60 min under UV and visible light radiation, respectively.The characterization analysis revealed that neodymium is dispersed on the surface semiconductor, where probably forming Ti-O-Nd bonds, which can induce oxygen vacancies and surface defects.The effective separation of the photogenerated electrons and holes was regarded as the main reason for the high photocatalytic activity.