RESUMO
The presence of endocrine disrupting compounds in water receptor bodies, such as drugs, currently has in scientific field a great focus of studies focused on advanced water treatment techniques that enable the decontamination of water sources and public supply. In this context, this study focused on the characterization and evaluation of photocatalytic activity of catalysts calcined and uncalcined synthesized TiO2 and the commercial sol-gel route from caffeine degradation. The photocatalysts were characterized by N2 physisorption, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS), photoacoustic spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). They seek to evaluate the main textural, structural, chemical, and morphological differences that the method of synthesis can promote in obtaining a titanium oxide-based catalyst. Thus, the results of this study demonstrate that the synthesis method significantly influences the activity of the materials and that calcined TiO2 catalyst prepared using the sol-gel method has promising photocatalytic capabilities for the elimination of drugs such as caffeine when present in wastewater.