Investigation of Photocatalytic Removal Amoxicillin from Aquatic Environment Using Bi2O3-TiO2

The continuous introduce of antibiotics, including amoxicillin into the environment, has created potential health risks, especially resistance to pathogenic microorganisms. In recent years, several efforts have been made by researchers to develop methods that lead to the destruction of antibiotics, including photocatalytic processes based on TiO2. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of catalyst Bi2O3-TiO2 in the removal of amoxicillin from aqueous environment. In this fundamental-applied study, the catalyst Bi2O3-TiO2 was first synthesized by hydrothermal method. The SEM, EDX and DRS analysis were used to determine the characteristics of the nanocomposite. Then, the effect of factors such as the content of bismuth in the Bi2O3-TiO2, the initial concentration of amoxicillin (10, 15, and 20 mg L-1), pH (3 to 11), and mineralization rate were investigated. Findings: Based on the results of this study, catalyst BT-5%, show more photocatalytic degradation efficiency of amoxicillin under visible light irradiation. The optimum pH and amoxicillin concentration in this process were determined 11 and 10 mg L-1 reapectively. Maximum efficiency thise process at optimal conditions after 120 minutes was 85%. The results of this study showed that the photocatalytic process based on Bi2O3-TiO2 compared to pure TiO2 is an effective method for removing amoxicillin from the aqueous environment(p > 0.05), and the use of Bi2O3 will effectively increase the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 in visible light.