Nanostructured TiO2
thin films were fabricated via a facile, economical, and
energy-efficient microwave-assisted dip-coating (MWDC) technique.
Further, the resulting TiO2 films were characterized by means
of X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy,
selected-area electron diffraction, Fourier transform Raman
spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and photoluminescence
spectroscopy techniques for their phase structure, morphology, and
optical and surface properties. TiO2 -mediated
photoelectrocatalytic degradation of the antibiotic cefotaxime (CFX) in
an aqueous solution was studied by varying the pH under UV illumination.
The degradation intermediates and possible reaction degradation path of
CFX were analyzed by electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass
spectrometry (MS). The MS spectra revealed that degradation of CFX
occurs through β-lactum corresponding to the cleavage of the
cephem nucleus. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of CFX prior to and
after photoelectrocatalytic degradation was carried out to analyze the
toxicity against Staphylococcus aureus and salmonella typhi
bacteria. Interestingly, it was observed that the antibiotic activity
was drastically inhibited after photoelectrocatalytic degradation of the
CFX solution. The photoelectrocatalytic stability of a nanostructured
TiO2 electrode was evaluated by recycling the degradation
experiments. It was observed that there was no significant decrease in
the catalytic activity, indicating potential applications of the TiO2 electrode prepared by the MWDC method.