Peripherally tetra-substituted zinc (II) phthalocyanine sensitized TiO₂ composite: Monitoring with tandem LC/MS and photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin

In this study, zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc)/TiO2 photocatalysts were obtained by sol-gel method using titanium isopropoxide and ZnPc as Ti source, and dye pigments, respectively. The synthesized (ZnPc)/TiO2 photocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (SEM/EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Ultraviolet-Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-DRS). Photodegradation tests were evaluated in the ultraviolet and visible light range with photocatalysts to compare photocatalytic activity and investigate optimum mineralization of amoxicillin (AMX) by monitoring the triple quadrupole LC/MS-MS (Tandem MS2). Mineralization of AMX was also investigated by total organic carbon (TOC) analysis, suggesting that either amoxicillin itself or its resistant metabolites are still in solution and mineralization did not occur in an expected manner.