A novel ternary Fe(III)-SrTiO3-GO nanocomposite for LED-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin antibiotic: Performance, mineralization ability, degradation pathway, and mechanistic insight

Abstract

The widespread production and use of pharmaceutical antibiotics is wreaking havoc on the environment. To address this issue, a semiconductor photocatalyst with high photocatalytic efficiency must be developed in order to eliminate antibiotics from wastewater. Herein, an efficient ternary photocatalyst (Fe(III)-SrTiO3-GO) was synthesized by anchoring Fe(III) species and GO sheets over the surface of SrTiO3 nanocubes. The optimized (2Fe(III)-SrTiO3-10GO) nanocomposite displayed superior photoactivity by degrading 92.3 % of NOF within 120 min of LED light exposure in contrast with pristine SrTiO3, (33.6 %) and binary composites (SrTiO3-10GO) (68.5% ), (2Fe(III)-SrTiO3) (79.2% ). The meliorative performance is credited to synergic effects of GO (with high conductivity), SrTiO3 (specialized morphology) and Fe(III) species (IFCT effect) all together in the trio-hybrid that accelerated the transference and separation of photoinduced carriers, and extends the visible-light responsive range. (h+), (OH) were the predominant reactive species liable for the degradation process. Further, the plausible photocatalytic mechanism and degradation pathways of NOF were speculated with several intermediates identified. The current study provide a new perspective on construction of innovative, reusable and cost-effective photocatalyst based on transition metal ion and GO co-catalyzed metal titanates for wastewater remediation.