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Investigating the Effect of Various Experimental Parameters on Visible Light-Driven TiO2-based Photocatalysis for the Remediation of Aqueous Phase Polystyrene Microplastics
Summary
This study optimized TiO2-based photocatalysts—including Ag-TiO2 and TiO2/CNT composites—under visible light irradiation and achieved up to 57.84% degradation of polystyrene microplastics in water over 120 hours, with pH and catalyst dosage identified as key process parameters. Advancing photocatalytic degradation technologies is important for breaking down persistent plastic particles in water systems before they are ingested by aquatic organisms or enter drinking water supplies.
Microplastics (MPs), tiny plastics with an average diameter of less than 5 mm, are experiencing tremendous increments in their existence in the aquatic environment, threatening marine life and human health. Conversely, the technology for controlling and effectively removing MPs from the aqueous media is yet to be developed. Recently, photocatalysis has shown efficiency in treating MP pollution in an aquatic environment. Though the photocatalytic degradation of MPs has been reported, the effect of various process parameters on the photocatalytic degradation process has not been significantly investigated. To fill this research gap, the impact of different experimental parameters on the photocatalytic degradation process of polystyrene (PS) MPs was studied using TiO2-based photocatalysts, i.e., conventional TiO2, Ag-TiO2, TiO2/CNT, and Ag-TiO2/CNT, under visible light irradiation. Further, the photodegraded samples were analyzed using a Nephelometer, TOC analyzer, FTIR, GC–MS, and 1H-NMR spectrometer. The results have shown that visible light-driven photocatalysis boosts PS chain scissions and decreases the concentration of PS MPs up to 57.84% in 120 h of irradiation. Moreover, the percentage mass loss was reduced with the increased MP concentration for a fixed amount of photocatalyst. Likewise, the optimum dosage of photocatalyst enhanced the performance of photocatalysis. Additionally, percentage degradation was optimum at pH ~ 6.2 and ambient temperature.