Fabrication of chitosan/graphene oxide/TiO2 (Ch/GO/TiO2) nanocomposite film for photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen.

Improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste in water is hazardous to the environment. Several ways have been developed to address this issue, with the photocatalyst being a well-known example. In recent years, there has been a surge in interest in the use of stable photocatalysts for water treatment. Here, we used a straightforward approach to fabricate nanocomposite films of chitosan/graphene oxide/TiO₂ (Ch/GO/TiO₂) via solution casting. The graphene oxide was synthesized via Hummer's method and characterized using UV-vis spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The successful result of obtained GO was applied by combining with TiO₂ in chitosan matrix to form (Ch/GO/TiO₂) nanocomposite films. Films were made by varying the ratio of graphene oxide (GO) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) in chitosan matrix. The films were also characterized using FTIR, SEM and EDX. The photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen (N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetamide) was investigated in a batch reactor which yielded a maximum of 10% of 50 ppm acetaminophen under UV irradiation for 120 minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]