Synthesis and characterization of rGO/Fe0/Fe3O4/TiO2 nanocomposite and application of photocatalytic process in the decomposition of penicillin G from aqueous

Photocatalytic degradation of azithromycin and ceftriaxone using synthesized Ag/g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposites in aqueous solution

This study focuses on the synthesis of an Ag/g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposite and its application for the photocatalytic degradation of azithromycin and ceftriaxone in aqueous solutions. The g-C3N4 was prepared via a two-step calcination method, while the Ag/g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposite was synthesized using a one-step hydrothermal approach. The physicochemical properties of the nanocomposite were thoroughly characterized using XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM, TEM, and VSM. Process optimization based on the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) identified optimal conditions at pH 5.2, a catalyst dose of 0.42 g/L, reaction time of 107 min, and an initial antibiotic concentration of 10 mg/L. Under these conditions, the nanocomposite achieved degradation efficiencies of 83.3 ± 2.1% for azithromycin and 93.3 ± 1.8% for ceftriaxone. COD and TOC reductions were measured at 65.5% and 52%, respectively, although intermediate products decelerated mineralization. Catalyst reusability was demonstrated with a performance decline of less than 13% after six cycles. Additionally, light intensity and the presence of scavengers and inorganic ions were evaluated, revealing that hydroxyl radicals (OH•) play a dominant role in the degradation process. The nanocomposite also exhibited enhanced visible light absorption due to its tailored bandgap and electron-hole separation efficiency. The findings confirm that the Ag/g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposite is a robust and efficient photocatalyst for antibiotic degradation, offering a sustainable and effective solution for wastewater treatment applications.

Molecularly Imprinted Titanium Dioxide: Synthesis Strategies and Applications in Photocatalytic Degradation of Antibiotics from Marine Wastewater: A Review

Antibiotic residues in the marine environment pose a serious threat to ecosystems and human health, and there is an urgent need to develop efficient and selective pollution control technologies. Molecular imprinting technology (MIT) provides a new idea for antibiotic pollution control with its specific recognition and targeted removal ability. However, traditional titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts have limited degradation efficiency and lack of selectivity for low concentrations of antibiotics. This paper reviews the preparation strategy and modification means of molecularly imprinted TiO2 (MI-TiO2) and its composites and systematically explores its application mechanism and performance advantages in marine antibiotic wastewater treatment. It was shown that MI-TiO2 significantly enhanced the selective degradation efficiency of antibiotics such as tetracyclines and sulfonamides through the enrichment of target pollutants by specifically imprinted cavities, combined with the efficient generation of photocatalytic reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, emerging technologies such as magnetic/electric field-assisted catalysis and photothermal synergistic effect further optimized the recoverability and stability of the catalysts. This paper provides theoretical support for the practical application of MI-TiO2 in complex marine pollution systems and looks forward to its future development in the field of environmental remediation.

Visible-light-driven peroxydisulfate activation by biochar-loaded Fe-Cu layered double hydroxide for penicillin G degradation: Performance, mechanism and application potential

The biochar-loaded Fe-Cu layered double hydroxide (FeCu-LDH@BC) catalyst was synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method and used to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) for penicillin G (PG) degradation under visible light. The physicochemical properties of FeCu-LDH@BC were characterized using SEM, XPS, UV-DRS, SEM-EDS, HRTEM, XRD, BET, PL spectrum, FT-IR, Raman spectrum, TG-DSC, TPD, and EIS, showing that biochar (BC) enhanced the optical properties of FeCu-LDH. Notably, the FeCu-LDH@BC + PDS + Light system achieved a 98.79% degradation efficiency for PG in just 10 min. Furthermore, FeCu-LDH@BC retained excellent activity after four reuse cycles. LSV results indicated enhanced electron transfer in the FeCu-LDH@BC + PDS + Light system, suggesting a synergistic effect between the photocatalytic and PDS activation systems. The interconversion of h+, SO4·⁻, 1O2, and ·OH species was found to play a key role in PG degradation. Density functional theory was used to identify PG sites susceptible to radical attack, and the possible degradation pathway was proposed based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry results. Toxicity evaluation using the TEST software confirmed that the intermediates formed were significantly less toxic than PG. Lastly, the FeCu-LDH@BC + PDS + Light system removed 37.45% of total organic carbon and 63.74% of chemical oxygen demand from real wastewater within 120 min. The type and transformation pathways of organic matter in the wastewater were analyzed using 3D Excitation Emission Matrix spectroscopy to assess the system's application potential.

Magnetite nanoparticles decorated on cellulose aerogel for p-nitrophenol Fenton degradation: Effects of the active phase loading, cross-linker agent and preparation method

Magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) are among the most effective Fenton-Like heterogeneous catalysts for degrading environmental contaminants. However, Fe3O4 NPs aggregate easily and have poor dispersion stability because of their magnetic properties, which seriously decrease their catalytic efficiency. In this study, a novel environmentally friendly method for synthesising Fe3O4@CA was proposed. Fe3O4 NPs were immobilized on the 3D cellulose aerogels (CAs) in order to augment the degradation efficiency of p-nitrophenol (PNP) treatment and make the separation of the catalyst accessible by vacuum filtration method. Besides, CAs were fabricated from a cellulose source extracted from water hyacinth by using different cross-linking agents, such as kymene (KM) and polyvinyl alcohol-glutaraldehyde system (PVA-GA), and other drying methods, including vacuum thermal drying and freeze drying, were evaluated in the synthesis process. As-synthesized samples were analysed by various methods, including Powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller. Then, using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, the difference in the degradability of PNP of the obtained material samples was also investigated to determine their potential applications. Results highlighted that the Fe3O4-3@CA-KF catalyst with an Fe3O4 loading of 0.40 g/gCA used KM as a cross-linker and the freeze-drying method demonstrated the highest PNP removal efficiency (92.5 %) in all Fe3O4@CA samples with a H2O2 content of 5 g/L. The degradation kinetics and well-fitted pseudo-first-order model were investigated. Notably, after five successive PNP degradation experiments, this catalyst retained ∼80 % of the ability to degrade PNP, indicating its outstanding reusability. In environmental remediation, this study provides valuable insights into the development of simply separated and high-efficiency catalysts for heterogeneous catalytic reactions.

TiO2-Decorated by Nano-γ-Fe2O3 as a Catalyst for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Orange G Dye under Eco-friendly White LED Irradiation

Azo dyes make up a major class of dyes that have been widely studied for their diverse applications. In this study, we successfully applied nano-γ-Fe2O3/TiO2 as a nanocatalyst to improve the photodegradation efficiency of azo dyes (Orange G (OG) dye as a model) from aqueous solution under white light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation. We also investigated the degradation mechanisms and pathways of OG dye as well as the effects of the initial pH value, amount of H2O2, catalyst dosage, and dye concentration on the degradation processes. The characterizations of nano-γ-Fe2O3 and γ-Fe2O3 Nps/TiO2 were carried out using various techniques, including X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The efficiency of the photodegradation reaction of OG was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics (Langmuir-Hinshelwood model) with a rate constant of 0.0338 min-1 and an R2 of 0.9906. Scavenger experiments revealed that hydroxyl radicals and superoxide anion radicals were the dominant species in the OG photocatalytic oxidation mechanism. This work provides a new method for designing highly efficient heterostructure-based photocatalysts (γ-Fe2O3 Nps/TiO2) based on LED light irradiation for environmental applications.