Effective Photocatalytic Degradation of Sulfamethoxazole Using Pan/Srtio3 Nanofibers

Abstract

Water pollution and climate change are leading to freshwater scarcity, which in turn necessitates the reuse of water through purification. Therefore, finding and studying effective water treatment methods is crucial. This research aims to develop a modern low-cost material for water purification of organic sulfonamide antibiotics. In particular, we report a composite based on SrTiO3 and electrospun carbon fibers (denoted as PAN/SrTiO3) applied to the photocatalytic decomposition of sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The composite was studied using SEM-EDS, TEM, XRD, XPS, UV-DIS and tested as an effective material to remove the antibiotic SMX, which is a global pollutant resulting from incomplete wastewater treatment. The efficiency of the PAN/SrTiO3 composite achieved over 90% SMX degradation at concentrations near and above ambient levels. The effect of different operating parameters such as catalyst dosage, pH value and initial contaminant concentration on the removal efficiency of SMX was investigated. Separate purification experiments were performed with river water to evaluate the contribution of impurities to the SMX degradation process. SMX degradation was described using a pseudo-first order kinetic equation using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model

Keywords: Sulfamethoxazole, antibiotic, Strontium titanate, Carbon nanofibers, Photocatalytic degradation, Water purification