Solvothermal synthesized boron doped TiO2 catalysts: Photocatalytic degradation of endocrine disrupting compounds and pharmaceuticals under visible light irradiation

Abstract Boron doped TiO2 (B-TiO2) photocatalysts with visible light activity were successfully synthesized by solvothermal method. The characterizations of the synthesized products were carried out by XRD, SEM-EDAX, BET, XPS, TGA-DTG and UV–vis spectroscopy. The band gap values of TiO2 were decreased with the increase of the boron doping level. XPS analysis revealed that the interstitial TiO2 structure was modified via formation of Ti O B bonds. Photocatalytic degradations of endocrine disrupting compounds (2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), bisphenol-A (BPA)) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen (IBU), flurbiprofen (FLU)) were examined by using raw and boron doped TiO2 catalysts under UV-A and visible irradiation. Boron doping can remarkably enhance light utilization and improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 toward the selected organics. The effects of boron content, initial solution pH and H2O2 on the photocatalytic performance were studied. The BPA, DCP, IBU and FLU reaction rate constants of B-TiO2 (8 wt.% B) were found as kBPA = 5.989 × 10−2, kDCP = 2.087 × 10−2, kIBU = 1.818 × 10−2, and kFLU = 1.319 × 10−2 min−1. B-doped TiO2 catalysts were found to be effective for the consecutive degradation tests referring their potentiality in extended applications.