Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of molecular forms of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on TiO2 nanotubes in 0.9% NaCl
摘要
Titania nanotubes (TNT) photoanodes were fabricated by anodization of titanium foil at 60 V in ethylene glycol-based electrolyte employing two-step procedure. The obtained TNT/Ti photoanode consists of anatase polymorph of titania, forming nanotubes with length of 20–22 µm, average diameter of 90–100 nm and wall thickness of 20 nm. The performance of this photoanode in the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of two nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)—ketoprofen (KET) and ibuprofen (IBP)—in a saline solution was studied. Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was used for identification of degradation products after the first stage of the photoelectrochemical degradation. It is shown that photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of these compounds proceeds with formation of intermediate oxygenated forms; some of them could be more toxic than the initial NSAIDs. The principal degradation products are represented by alcohols and ketones; chlorinated derivative of ibuprofen is also observed.