Zeolite supported TiO2 for the degradation and mineralization of sulfamethoxazole under UV light irradiation

Zeolites have been widely regarded as promising supporting host materials for the catalyst due to their unique structure, high surface area and excellent adsorption capacity. In this work, TiO2 particles were deposited on the surface of zeolite and used as catalyst for photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole in water under UV light irradiation (365 nm). XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM/EDS, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and BET analysis were used to investigate the physico-chemical properties of prepared catalysts. Among prepared catalysts, TiO2/Z-500 exhibited better photocatalytic performance by achieving complete sulfamethoxazole (30 mg/L) degradation after 20 min of reaction and ~18% of TOC removal after 120 min.