Abstract

In photocatalytic reactions, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used as a photocatalyst for air and water decontamination, proving to be highly effective over the years. However, its activation capacity with visible light is limited by the high bandgap value of this compound. To overcome this limitation, various modifications have been implemented, such as metal doping. The aim of this study was to synthesize, characterize and evaluate the photocatalytic activity of copper-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (NPs) in the degradation of acetaminophen (ACF), an emerging contaminant of pharmaceutical origin. For the synthesis of Cu/TiO2 NPs, mechanical milling and wet impregnation techniques with copper sulfate pentahydrate as a precursor were used. The characterization was carried out using various techniques, such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The results obtained reveal a reduction of the bandgap in the Cu/TiO2 sample, indicating a higher efficiency in the absorption of visible light. In the photocatalytic evaluation, a significant improvement in the degradation of acetaminophen (77%) was observed when using copper-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles. These findings suggest a great potential in the application of Cu-doped TiO2 NPs for the decontamination of waters with the presence of emerging contaminants.