Photocatalytic degradation of Lidocaine HCl using CuO/ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract

In this paper, the photocatalytic degradation of Lidocaine HCl, an anesthetic was investigated in<br />aqueous solution using CuO/ZnO as a photocatalyst. The degradation was studied under different<br />conditions including the amount of the photocatalyst, irradiation time, initial concentration of drug,<br />pH of the system, initial concentration, addition of oxidant on the reaction rate and anion presence.<br />The results showed that the photocatalytic degradation of Lidocaine HCl was strongly influenced by<br />these parameters. The best conditions for the photocatalytic degradation of Lidocaine HCl were<br />obtained. The optimum amount of the photocatalyst used is 0.48 g/L. The photodegradation<br />efficiency of Lidocaine HCl increases with the increase of the illumination time. It was found that the<br />photodegradation efficiency decreased with increasing the initial concentration of Lidocaine HCl.<br />The photodegradation efficiency of Lidocaine HCl was accelerated by adding a small amount of<br />H2O2. The possible roles of the additives on the reactions and the possible mechanisms of effect were<br />also discussed.