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Updated: Aug 21, 2025
A Complete Method for Evaluating the Performance of Photocatalysts for the Degradation of Antibiotics in Environmental Remediation
Published on: October 6, 2022
Investigation of Photocatalyst Composites for Pollutant Degradation in a Microslit Reactor Utilizing High Throughput
Tony B Engelhardt1, Sabine Schmitz-Stöwe1, Thomas Schwarz1
1Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Technology Chemnitz, Straße der Nationen 62, 09111, Chemnitz, Germany.
Abstract:
The high-throughput screening investigations on TiO2 based photocatalyst composites presented here have been carried out in a 60-fold parallel photoreactor. Additional catalyst testing was performed in a microslit reactor system with immobilized catalysts. For further enhancing the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 (P25), composites of P25 and, for example, Bi2 O3 , CeO2 , g-C3 N4 , WO3 or ZnO were formulated in different nominal molar ratios. The catalysts' performances were assessed by their conversion of 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) in aqueous solutions, determined by LC-MS. Findings show rapid EE2 conversions in short residence times. The extensive testing of catalysts led to the conclusion that the photocatalytic conversion is rather a function of residence time than a function of the materials utilized. This makes adequate process development seem more important than material development. The novelty of this contribution lies in the unique combination of testing a wide range of composite catalysts in a unique microreactor geometry.
