Polymer immobilized TiO2 microparticles for photocatalytic degradation of caffeine

In this work, polymer immobilized TiO2 microparticles were synthesized and used for the degradation of caffeine under UV light (365 nm) irradiation. The morphology, elemental composition and thermal properties of prepared catalysts were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The EDS analysis confirmed the existence of Ti and O elements that are TiO2 constituents. The results revealed that particles with the size of less than 100 µm exhibited better catalytic activity achieving complete caffeine degradation after 60 mins of UV light exposure. Moreover, the effects of catalyst and pollutant concentration on the catalyst activity were studied.