X-ray induced photocatalysis on TiO2 and TiO2 nanotubes: Degradation of organics and drug release

The photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide under X-ray radiation is of great interest for biomedical applications. In the present work we explore the use of compact TiO2 layers and TiO2 nanotubes for Xray induced photocatalysis, in particular the degradation of organics and monolayer chain scission for drug release. The radiation was done with a conventional X-ray source and doses up to 50 x 10(-3) J/kg. The results show the feasibility of X-ray catalysis on TiO2 and X-ray induced monolayer chain scission by the release of surface attached Zn-porphyrin molecules. Furthermore, a higher efficiency for anatase films and nanotubes is obtained than for amorphous morphologies. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.