Photocatalytic degradation of Lidocaine HCl using CuO/ZnO nanoparticles

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