Ceftriaxone photodegradation in wastewater using AgCuFe2O4/ZnO Almond-like heterogeneous nanocatalyst anchored on multi walled carbon nanotubes: Synthesis, characterization, mechanism study, and bioassay effluent

Abstract

This study investigated the Ceftriaxone (CFT) degradation by photocatalytic process using AgCuFe2O4@MWCNT/ZnO as novel nanophotocatalyst. Firstly, the catalyst was prepared by microwave-assisted chemical coprecipitation method as a simple, fast, and green procedure with high efficiency. FESEM, EDS, Mapping, Line scan, FTIR, XRD, BET, DRS, PL, TGA, and VSM analyzes was carried out to identify the characteristics of the AgCuFe2O4@MWCNT/ZnO. The effect of key operational parameters for CFT photodegradation including solution pH, catalyst dosage, CFT concentration, and irradiation time was elaborated. Under optimal photocatalytic conditions (pH 7, 5 mg/L of CFT concentration, catalyst dosage of 0.24 g/L, and 60 minutes of irradiation) removal efficiency reached 90.1 % in synthetic samples and 75 % in real wastewater samples. •OH and •O2– are the dominant generated reactive oxygen species in the process. The kinetic study of the process revealed that the CFT degradation process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic and Langmuir-Hinshelwood models with kc = 0.412 mg/L.min and kL-H =0.053 L/mg. Photocatalytic process indicated a powerful ability for mineralization of CFT (85.31 % of COD degradation). After four catalyst recovery cycles, the CFT degradation efficiency was achieved by 58.14 %, demonstrating the catalyst's recovery capability and chemical stability. The results of toxicity assessment using lettuce and basil seeds germination indicated a significant detoxification of CFT-containing effluent compared to the untreated CFT-containing wastewater. This study offers AgCuFe2O4@MWCNT/ZnO as effective, stable, and competitive catalyst for hastening and enhancing the photocatalytic process to mitigate environmentally related pollutants of high concern.