Synthesis and characterization of TiO 2 via sol-gel method for efficient photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic ofloxacin

The current study includes the preparation of titanium based nanoparticles for effective photo catalytic degradation of the second generation antibiotic Ofloxacin from the simulated water. The nanoparticles were synthesized by simple sol-gel method via Ti-isopropoxide as Ti precursor and calcined at 300, 350, 400, and 450 °C. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. Results of characterization study indicated the formation of anatase phase at low temperature. Degradation rate of 91, 87, 76, and 64% was achieved after 3 h of irradiations by TiO2 calcined at 300, 350, 400, and 450 °C, respectively. Results indicated that by increasing calcination temperature, degradation rate of Ofloxacin was decreased due to increase in particle size and smaller surface area. Photo catalytic degradation of Ofloxacin proved that TiO2 was an efficient catalyst for the removal of antibiotic from water samples.