Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Propylparaben Using Metal Oxide Catalysts: Kinetic Analysis and Light Source Evaluation

IF 3.5 4区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Pub Date : 2026-10-17 DOI:10.1007/s11270-026-10085-3

Dilek Kucuklu, Gülin Selda Pozan Soylu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigates the photocatalytic degradation of propylparaben (PP), a widely used preservative associated with environmental and health risks, in wastewater using various metal oxides (TiO₂, ZnO, α-Bi₂O3-CP, and β-Bi₂O₃-SG). It also provides a comparative evaluation of metal oxide photocatalysts and synthesis methods under different light sources, highlighting the strong influence of catalyst preparation and irradiation conditions on photocatalytic efficiency. All catalysts were synthesized using simple preparation techniques. Their structural, morphological, and optical properties were characterized using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). Identification of PP and its reaction intermediates was performed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Bi₂O₃-CP and Bi₂O₃-SG, synthesized via co-precipitation and sol–gel methods, respectively, exhibited superior photocatalytic activity. The Bi₂O₃-CP catalyst achieved complete removal of PP under UV-B irradiation within 90 min, while 94.55% removal was obtained under natural sunlight within 45 min. Bi₂O₃-SG achieved 100% PP removal within 60 min of UV-B irradiation, with the highest reaction rate constant (0.088 min⁻¹). These results elucidate the roles of Bi₂O₃ phase composition, band gap energy, and crystallite size in enhanced photocatalytic activity under both UV-B and natural sunlight irradiation, highlighting the potential of Bi₂O₃-based photocatalysts for removing pharmaceutical contaminants from wastewater.

Graphical Abstract

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金属氧化物催化剂强化光催化降解对羟基苯甲酸丙酯：动力学分析及光源评价

本文研究了不同金属氧化物（TiO₂、ZnO、α-Bi₂O3-CP和β-Bi₂O3-SG）在废水中光催化降解对羟基苯甲酸丙酯（PP）的作用。PP是一种具有环境和健康风险的防腐剂。并对不同光源下的金属氧化物光催化剂及其合成方法进行了比较评价，突出了催化剂制备和照射条件对光催化效率的强烈影响。所有催化剂均采用简单的制备工艺合成。利用brunauer - emmet - teller （BET）、x射线衍射（XRD）、傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、漫反射光谱（DRS）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和光致发光光谱（PL）对其结构、形态和光学性质进行了表征。采用液相色谱-串联质谱法（LC-MS /MS）对PP及其反应中间体进行鉴定。Bi₂O₃-CP和Bi₂O₃-SG分别通过共沉淀法和溶胶-凝胶法合成，表现出优异的光催化活性。Bi₂O₃-CP催化剂在UV-B照射下90 min内完全脱除PP，在自然光照下45 min内脱除率为94.55%。Bi₂O₃-SG在UV-B照射60分钟内达到100%的PP脱除效果，反应速率常数最高（0.088 min⁻1）。这些结果阐明了Bi₂O₃相组成、带隙能量和晶体尺寸在UV-B和自然阳光照射下增强光催化活性中的作用，突出了Bi₂O₃基光催化剂在去除废水中药物污染物方面的潜力。图形抽象

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来源期刊

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

6.90%

发文量

448

审稿时长

2.6 months

期刊介绍： Water, Air, & Soil Pollution is an international, interdisciplinary journal on all aspects of pollution and solutions to pollution in the biosphere. This includes chemical, physical and biological processes affecting flora, fauna, water, air and soil in relation to environmental pollution. Because of its scope, the subject areas are diverse and include all aspects of pollution sources, transport, deposition, accumulation, acid precipitation, atmospheric pollution, metals, aquatic pollution including marine pollution and ground water, waste water, pesticides, soil pollution, sewage, sediment pollution, forestry pollution, effects of pollutants on humans, vegetation, fish, aquatic species, micro-organisms, and animals, environmental and molecular toxicology applied to pollution research, biosensors, global and climate change, ecological implications of pollution and pollution models. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution also publishes manuscripts on novel methods used in the study of environmental pollutants, environmental toxicology, environmental biology, novel environmental engineering related to pollution, biodiversity as influenced by pollution, novel environmental biotechnology as applied to pollution (e.g. bioremediation), environmental modelling and biorestoration of polluted environments. Articles should not be submitted that are of local interest only and do not advance international knowledge in environmental pollution and solutions to pollution. Articles that simply replicate known knowledge or techniques while researching a local pollution problem will normally be rejected without review. Submitted articles must have up-to-date references, employ the correct experimental replication and statistical analysis, where needed and contain a significant contribution to new knowledge. The publishing and editorial team sincerely appreciate your cooperation. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution publishes research papers; review articles; mini-reviews; and book reviews.