Simultaneous H2 Production and Ciprofloxacin Elimination by Combination of Electrocoagulation-Photocatalytic Processes Using CdS/TNTA Photocatalyst

Efforts were made to improve the performance of the combined electrocoagulation-photocatalysis process by modifying the photocatalyst. A nanotube array morphology photocatalyst using TiO2 (Titania Nanotube Array, TNTA) was combined with CdS to achieve a type II heterojunction mechanism capable of suppressing the electron and hole recombination rate, thereby improving the photocatalytic performance. Various characterization results, including XRD, HRTEM, FESEM, UV Vis DRS, and XPS, showed the successful formation of the CdS/TNTA nanocomposite. Observation results indicated that in the single photocatalysis process, the use of CdS/TNTA exhibited superior performance compared to TNTA, both in terms of hydrogen gas production (0.012 to 0.311 mmol/m2plate) and Ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation capability (7.9% to 13.8%). Operating combination of electrocoagulation-photocatalysis processes simultaneously under their respective optimized conditions led to significant improvements. Hydrogen gas yield reached 44% (from 443 to 636 mmol/m2 plate) compared to using only TNTA. Similarly, there was a notable increase in the capability to remove ciprofloxacin, significantly improving from 79% to 83% CIP removal. As a result, the scenario of modified TNTA in the simultaneous electrocoagulation-photocatalysis process is worthy of further exploration in subsequent studies.