Synthesis of Composite Photocatalyst Derived from Medical Mask Waste/TiO₂for Degradation of Rhodamine-B Textile Waste

The Covid-19 case requires the use of masks followed by an increase in the amount of waste in Indonesia. Another type of waste that continues to increase and is harmful to waters is Rhodamine-B (RhB). One way to treat this waste is by photodegradation method. In this research, the synthesis of S-doped porous carbon (SDPC) derived from medical mask waste was composited with TiO2, a semiconductor material, to be used as photocatalyst material. The aim of this research is to determine the effect of SDPC mass on the structure and morphology of the SDPC/TiO2 composite and the performance of Rhodamine-B degradation. The mass variations of SDPC used were 25%; 37.5%; and 50%. The process of synthesizing porous carbon by sulfonation method at a temperature of 200 °C for 6 hours and continued activation using KOH to form activated SDPC. Then the composite synthesis process was carried out by sonification process. The result show 50% SDPC/TiO2 composite has the best degradation performance with degradation percentage of 54.21% in 2 hours of irradiation time.