Synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nurafiqah Rosman
Other Authors: Wan Norharyati Wan Salleh, supervisor
Format: Doctoral thesis
Language:English
Published: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://utmik.utm.my/handle/123456789/40113
Abstract Abstract here
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author Nurafiqah Rosman
author2 Wan Norharyati Wan Salleh, supervisor
author_facet Wan Norharyati Wan Salleh, supervisor
Nurafiqah Rosman
author_sort Nurafiqah Rosman
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format Doctoral thesis
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institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
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spelling utm-123456789-401132025-08-20T20:55:05Z Synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation Nurafiqah Rosman Wan Norharyati Wan Salleh, supervisor Chemical engineering Also available in printed version The use of Ibuprofen (IBF), one of the most prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), has raised environmental concerns due to its potentially mutagenic and genotoxic effects. Thus, the development of photocatalytic membranes using mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) is introduced as a new way to filter and degrade contaminants simultaneously. The incorporation of visible-light driven photocatalyst in membrane matrix has gained numerous attentions recently. Hence, novel visible light driven of ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O photocatalyst had been successfully synthesized via the facile two-step synthesis method. The phase transformation from Ag2CO3 to Ag2O over ZnO surfaces was observed in different phase structures and the O atom possessed by Ag2O had diffused towards the Ag2CO3 surface, signifying the presence of Ag2CO3/Ag2O heterostructure over the ZnO. The result indicates that the ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O heterojunction exhibited a 99.3% photodegradation of IBF solution under visible-light irradiation, with 10-fold higher reaction rate compared to the pristine ZnO. Compact interfacial heterojunction in ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O sample had promoted visible-light absorption and effective interfacial charge transfers due to synergistic effect of Ag2CO3/Ag2O heterostructure. In this regard, the IBF photocatalytic performance was further examined by incorporating the ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O photocatalyst in polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane matrix. Porous PVDF pristine membrane and photocatalytic MMMs incorporated with 0.5–2.91 wt% of ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O photocatalyst were produced in the UF range. The resulting PVDF-ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O membrane with rougher membrane surface area and excellent light harvesting capability showed higher photocatalytic-filtration activity in removing IBF under visible-light irradiations. The MMMs fluxes demonstrated higher IBF fluxes of its initial flux in certain duration. This indicates that the membrane actively responds to light irradiation. The increase of positive flux could be attributed to the photoinduced hydrophilicity generated by ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O photocatalyst, resulting in easier water layer formation and rapid transport through membranes. The highest IBF removal was demonstrated by PVDF-ZAA2 membrane (1.96 wt% of loading) with 49.96% of IBF removal within 180 minutes upon visible-light irradiation. The reason for this lower IBF removal is that UF membrane pores exceed the size of IBF molecules, thereby preventing the size exclusion mechanism. Thus, charge repulsion, hydrophobic adsorption, and photocatalytic activity were considered along with IBF removal of photocatalytic membranes. However, the recyclability of the PVDF-ZAA2 photocatalytic membrane has a great improvement with 99.01% of IBF removal recovery after three-time recyclability. These results highlighted the potential of such hybrid membranes in mitigating membrane fouling by providing a platform for photocatalysts to continuously degrade pollutants present in such wastewaters. Therefore, hybridization of photocatalysts and membrane provided insight that could be utilized to improve and retrofit the current water effluent treatment methods. fahmimoksen UTM 216 p. Thesis (Doktor Falsafah (Kejuruteraan Kimia)) - Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2022 2025-03-06T06:54:38Z 2025-03-06T06:54:38Z 2022 Doctoral thesis https://utmik.utm.my/handle/123456789/40113 vital:150659 valet-20230222-151544 ENG Closed Access UTM Complete Unpublished Completion application/pdf Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
spellingShingle Chemical engineering
Nurafiqah Rosman
Synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation
thesis_level PhD
title Synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation
title_full Synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation
title_fullStr Synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation
title_full_unstemmed Synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation
title_short Synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation
title_sort synthesis of enhanced zinc oxide based material photocatalyst for ibuprofen degradation
topic Chemical engineering
url https://utmik.utm.my/handle/123456789/40113
work_keys_str_mv AT nurafiqahrosman synthesisofenhancedzincoxidebasedmaterialphotocatalystforibuprofendegradation