PREPARATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND EVALUATION OF THE PHOTOCATALYTIC EFFECT OF α-Fe2O3/SAPO-34 IN THE ELIMINATION PROCESS OF THE ANTI-CANCER DRUG DOXORUBICIN FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Abstract

In this investigation, α-Fe₂O₃/SAPO-34 nano-structure were synthesized and characterized by XRD, SEM and FT-IR techniques. Morphologically, the shape of α-Fe₂O₃/SAPO-34 nanoparticles is close to spherical nanoparticles with an average particle size of 93 nm determined by Debye-Scherrer equation. The photocatalytic activity of α-Fe₂O₃/SAPO-34 nanostructure was investigated through the degradation of doxorubicin, an anti-cancer drug using a batch reactor under UV-C irradiation and H₂O₂ as oxidant. The effect of various factors including drug concentration, catalyst dosage, pH and H₂O₂ concentration on the degradation yield were investigated. The results showed that optimum conditions were: Initial concentration of DOX = 20 ppm, pH = 8, amount of α-Fe₂O₃/SAPO-34 = 150 mg/L, and H₂O₂ concentration 4 mol/L.