Development of a new recyclable nanocomoposite LDH-TiO2 for the degradation of antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole under UVA radiation: an approach towards sunlight

Abstract The aim of this study is the development of a new photocatalyst based on a calcined layered double hydroxide impregnated by TiO2 for the degradation of antibiotic sulfamethoxazole under UVA radiation. The most used catalyst TiO2-P25 has a high photocatalytic activity, but the difficulty of its elimination and regeneration remains a major drawback. To solve this problem, we have developed the nanocomposite LDH-TiO2 to study its performance and recycling possibility in order to reduce the contamination of water with drugs, which are a threat to public health and water resource quality. The massive use of antibiotics reveals their release in nature, which causes toxicity to aquatic organisms and thus develops a resistance of aquatic bacteria to these products. After the catalytic process carried out by hydroxyl radicals, six intermediate photoproducts were detected and subsequently their total mineralization was confirmed after COD analysis. The regeneration study of the catalyst LDH-TiO2 shows that it has excellent recyclability.