Synergetic effect of adsorption and photocatalysis by zinc ferrite-anchored graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet for the removal of ciprofloxacin under visible light irradiation

Abstract

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) belongs to the fluoroquinolone antibiotic family. It is mostly used for the treatment of bacterial infections and highly recalcitrant to naturally decompose. The nanocomposite was successfully constructed by zinc ferrite nanoparticle anchored onto graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet (ZFNP-CNNS). The structural, morphological, and optical properties of the ZFNP-CNNS nanocomposite were investigated. Moreover, the enhanced photocatalytic performance of the ZFNP-CNNS nanocomposite was a result of the synergetic effect between adsorption and photocatalysis. The adsorption study showed that the ZFNP-CNNS nanocomposite has heterogeneous active sites with multilayers and the maximum CIP adsorption capacity was 15.49 mg g-1. However, the photodegradation efficacy of CIP reached up to five times compared to that of pristine CNNS. The high adsorption-photocatalytic synergetic effect of the ZFNP-CNNS nanocomposite has great application in wastewater treatment.