Efficient photodegradation of paracetamol by TiO2/ZnO photocatalyst and prediction via Fuzzy Inference System

Mohd Hir, Zul Adlan; Mokhtar, Hamizah; Rafaie, Hartini Ahmad; Daud, Shaari; Shohaimi, Norshahidatul Akmar Mohd; Alam, Nik Muhammad Farhan Hakim Nik Badrul

doi:10.57647/j.ijc.2024.1402.13

Original Article

Efficient photodegradation of paracetamol by TiO2/ZnO photocatalyst and prediction via Fuzzy Inference System

Authors

Zul Adlan Mohd Hir * ^{1, 2}
Hamizah Mokhtar ³
Hartini Ahmad Rafaie ⁴
Shaari Daud ¹
Norshahidatul Akmar Mohd Shohaimi ¹
Nik Muhammad Farhan Hakim Nik Badrul Alam ⁵

Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang, Bandar Tun Abdul Razak Jengka, Pahang, Malaysia.
Catalysis for Sustainable Water and Energy Nexus Research Group, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Civil Engineering Studies, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang Branch, Jengka, Pahang, Malaysia.
Centre of Foundation Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor Branch, Dengkil Campus, Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia.
College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang, Bandar Tun Abdul Razak Jengka, Pahang, Malaysia.

Abstract

A facile chemical mixing approach was used to prepare TiO₂/ZnO photocatalystswith different mass ratios. The photodegradation activity was tested against paracetamol in an aqueous phase assisted by low UVC-light intensity (9 W). TiO₂/ZnO particles mainly exhibited irregular shapes with uniform distributions and high crystallinity degree, the primary oxidation state in the structure is titanium Ti⁴⁺ of anatase TiO₂ (459.2 and 464.9 eV), and the presence of standard chemical state of Zn²⁺ (1021.9 and 1044.9 eV). The composite with a 1:5 mass ratio displayed a rapid and outstanding degradation percentage of 95% and a rate of 1.83 × 10^-2 min^-1. The best photocatalyst can be recycled up to five times towards paracetamol degradation without any regeneration step or severe deactivation. A Fuzzy inference system (FIS) was computed for the first time to investigate the relationship between the TiO₂/ZnO ratio, degradation percentage, and rate constant. The optimal concentration of 9 mg/L was obtained, whereby the degradation percentage and rate were sufficiently maintained above 90% and 0.19 mg/L.min, respectively. Using a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) in this work enables future guidance and prediction for developing the best TiO₂/ZnO photocatalysts for real-world water remediation processes.

Highlights

1. Facile preparation of TiO₂/ZnO composite photocatalyst via simple mixing for degradation of paracetamol under low UVC light intensity (9 W).

2. TiO₂/ZnO particles are mostly exhibited irregular shapes with uniform distributions and high crystallinity degree, the main oxidation state in the structure is titanium Ti⁴⁺ of anatase TiO₂ (459.2 and 464.9 eV), and the presence of standard chemical state of Zn²⁺ (1021.9 and 1044.9 eV).

3. TiO₂/ZnO (1:5) displayed a rapid and outstanding degradation percentage of 95% and rate of 1.83 × 10^-2 min^-1, in accordance with pseudo first-order kinetics.

4. The optimal concentration of 9 mg/L was computed by the prediction using fuzzy inference system (FIS) for the first time, whereby the degradation percentage and rate were sufficiently maintained above 90% and 0.19 mg/L.min, respectively.

5. The stability of TiO₂/ZnO composite photocatalyst towards paracetamol degradation was retained up to 5 cycles, without undergo any regeneration procedure.