Photodegradation of ibuprofen by Pd-TiO₂/ZSM-5 catalyst

The use of medications has increased in recent decades and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are among the best-selling products. Ibuprofen belongs to this class and has been identified as a pollutant in waterbodies. Photocatalytic reactions constitute a treatment option for degrading this pollutant in wastewater. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the photodegradation of ibuprofen and its byproduct generated during the degradation process using the photocatalyst Pd-TiO₂/ZSM-5 under UVC irradiation with low power. The greatest degradation was achieved using an initial ibuprofen concentration of 10 ppm and catalyst dose of 0.17 g L⁻¹. Eighty percent degradation was reached after 300 min of reaction. During degradation, a byproduct with maximum light absorption at 260 nm was observed. The use of the heterogeneous photocatalyst was also effective at degrading this byproduct, with a 59.7% reduction of its final absorbance compared to the process without the catalyst.