Oxone activated TiO₂ in presence of UV-LED light for the degradation of moxifloxacin: A mechanistic study

This work provides new insight into the development of the TiO₂/Oxone/UV-LED process for organic contaminant degradation as well as hospital waste management. The Moxifloxacin (MOX) degradation using Oxone activated TiO₂ under UV-LED was studied. The TiO₂/Oxone/UV LED process was carried out by the addition of Oxone (0.025, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mM) activated by TiO₂ different concentrations 0.0125, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 g/L. The degradation efficiency was studied by HPLC having UV/Vis detector, C18 column (5µ, 4.6 × 250 mm²). The complete removal of 10 ppm of MOX occurred at 0.1 g/L TiO₂ and 0.1 mM Oxone with UV-LED exposure time of 12 min. The TOC analysis was performed and 55% TOC reduction was observed at described procedure. The parameters such as drug initial concentration, Oxone, TiO₂ dosages and pH were optimized and their effects on degradation were noted. The pseudo-first order reaction kinetics was observed for MOX degradation. It was revealed from the mechanism of activation that SO₄^-. and OH^. have played a key role in the degradation. The effect of pH (3.6–11) was observed to evaluate the degradation rate of Moxifloxacin. The pH 9.4 achieved the maximum degradation. The UPLC-ESI-MS analysis was performed to identify the intermediates and degraded end-products.