Fabrication of BixOyClz/rGO-NiFe2O4 Magnetic Nanophotocatalyst via Hybrid Ultrasound-Solvothermal Route for Elimination of Ofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin Antibiotic Pollutants and Rhodamine B and Acid Orange 7 Color Contaminants from Aqueous Solutions

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Founding Director of Reactor and Catalysis Research Center

2 Chemical Engineering Faculty, Sahand University of Technology, P.O.Box 51335-1996, Sahand New Town, Tabriz

Abstract

In this study, BixOyClz/rGO-NiFe2O4 magnetic nanophotocatalyst was synthesized using the hybrid ultrasound-solvothermal method. In order to compare the BixOyClz/rGO and NiFe2O4 samples were also fabricated. The properties of thess nanophotocatalysts were determined using various analyses such as XRD, FESEM, EDX, BET-BJH, DRS and VSM. The results obtained confirmed the correctness of the syntheses. Acording to the VSM analysis, the saturation magnetization of BixOyClz/rGO-NiFe2O4 nanophotocatalyst was obtained at about 3.8 emu/g. Moreover, regarding the BET-BJH results, the total open pore volume and specific surface area of this sample was obtained 0.5 cm3/g and 130.0 m2/g. Finally, the photocatalytic performance of BixOyClz/rGO-NiFe2O4 was evaluated in the elimination of the ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, as pharmaceutical pollutants, rhodamine B and acid orange 7, as the color contaminants. Results indicated the excellent activity of this nanophotocatalyst. So that, after 180 min, the eleimination efficiency was gained at about 98.5, 100, 100 and 96.5% for ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, rhodamine B and acid orange 7, respectively. This consequence was devoted the decrease of band gap and the enhanced light absorption features which can lead to enhancing production of electron-hole pairs, the raising separation and transmission of charge carriers and reducing recombination rate of them, the increasing surface adsorption of contaminant molecules and the increment of accessible active sites.

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