(514ah) Synthesis of Novel Photocatalyst for Contaminant Degradation and Hydrogen Production in Waste Water using Solar/UV Radiation

Photocatalyst-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been reported as a useful treatment approach for waste water decontamination purposes including for removal of medicines, organic chemicals, and for bacterial disinfection among others. In addition, the technique is beneficial for hydrogen production simultaneously to the elimination of contaminants. The optimization and upscaling of this technology for large scale implementation has established big challenges for environmental engineers. This study will potentially produce some data that is useful for an effective optimization between contaminant elimination and hydrogen production in a greener approach.

Most of the photocatalytic methods for contaminant degradation are based on the titanium dioxide (TiO₂) semiconductor photocatalyst which is readily available, environmentally friendly, and possesses significant photocatalytic activity. The big challenge associated with this catalyst is that it is photoresponsive only in the ultraviolet region (band gap 3.2 eV) that comprises only 4% of the solar spectrum falling on Earth. Therefore, synthesis of a new photocatalyst or, alternatively, the modification of the TiO₂ for a cost-efficient visible light responsive photocatalytic system that is capable of both mineralizing contaminants and producing hydrogen is a desirable goal for a research project. For example, modification of TiO₂ crystals by doping with other co-catalysts such as cadmium sulfide, molybdenum sulfide, etc. and novel metals such as platinum, silver, etc. is expected to be an excellent potential approach for this purpose so that the composite system potentially will display a broad spectrum for photoresponse.

This research focuses on developing a general technique to synthesize an efficient cadmium sulfide doped titanium dioxide (TiO₂/CdS) photocatalyst for Carbamazepine (CBZ) degradation. In addition, structural characterization using Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) instrumentation is performed. Furthermore, the evaluation of the kinetics of photocatalytic degradation in UV and visible light will be evaluated. Comparisons with current literature values for validation of the catalytic material will be also included.