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TURKISH JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, no.6, pp.1866-1874, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
In this study, photocatalytic degradation of paracetamol (acetaminophen), an analgesic and antipyretic drug, was investigated in using semiconductors under UV-B and sunlight irradiation. Semiconductor materials, Bi2O3, ZnO, TiO2, and ZrO2, were prepared using simple sol-gel, coprecipitation, and microwave synthesis methods. These photocatalyts were characterized by various spectroscopic and other techniques. As a result of the reactions, 25 ppm paracetamol with Bi2O3 and ZnO photocatalyst, total degradation was achieved with UV-B irradiation in 90 min. The results of photocatalytic activities showed that the highest degradation rate was obtained with the Bi2O3 photocatalyst. In the light of all findings, the nanorod-shaped Bi2O3 semiconductor which has a low band gap energy and exhibited effect on the despite of its low surface area.