Ketoprofen degradation by surface reactive species on TiO2, AgxOy/MoxOy/catalysts

[Display omitted] •The wet impregnation method was employed for the TiO2 functionalization with AgNPs.•XPS data indicates the presence of Ti, Ag, Mo, and O on the TiO2-4Ag-0.2Mo surface.•The degradation and mineralization were better at the lowest catalyst concentration.•At natural pH, the catalyst concentration of 0.5% led to mineralization of 45% and removal of 66%. In this research, the surface functionalization of TiO2 by silver and molybdenum species was used for the degradation and mineralization of ketoprofen. The catalyst was synthesized by a controlled wet impregnation method and characterized by several techniques; mineralization and degradation were quantified with HPLC and TOC (Total Organic Carbon) achieving more than 40 and 60% according to the pH. The higher removal using bimetallic synthesized catalyst compared with P25 TiO2 is due to the surface species, Ag, Ag+, MoO3, and Mo5+ that decrease the bandgap energy that inhibit the recombination of photoelectrons and charge separation. The as-synthetized nanocomposites stand as an alternative for the non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drug commonly found in wastewater.