Cobalt doping of titanium oxide nanoparticles for atenolol photodegradation in water.

Cobalt-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared and characterized by FT-IR, TEM, SEM, and XRD. The surface morphology was sphere-shaped with ~ 26.46 nm of the size of the nanoparticles. Ninety percent atenolol photodegradation was obtained with 15 mg/L concentration, 40 min stirring time, 2 pH, 2.0 g/L dosage of nanoparticles, 200.0 nm irradiation UV wavelength, and hydrogen peroxide amount 2.0 mL/L at 30 °C temp. Atenolol photodegradation conformed the first-order kinetics with a mechanism comprising atenolol sorption on the doped TiO2 nanoparticles and its degradation in UV irradiation. Hole (h+) and electron (e-) pairs are produced by doped TiO2 nanoparticles, creating hydroxyl free radicals and superoxide oxygen anions. These species break down atenolol.