Abstract
We report a first-of-its-kind preparation of a NiCo2O4-BiOCOOH heterostructure as visible light-responsive nanocomposites (NCs) for the fast decontamination of moxifloxacin drug molecules, with longer persistence and non-biodegradability nature that could promote gene-resistance bacteria in aqueous medium. Further, a reusable/recoverable photocatalyst is fabricated through the uniform decoration of NiCo2O4(15 %)-BiOCOOH(85 %), i.e., NB-15 NCs across a tailor-made poly(EGDMA) monolith (PEM) that serves as the host template for the photoactive NCs. The electron microscopy, optical spectroscopy, diffraction, and surface analysis techniques confirm the photocatalyst's superior structural morphology, surface topography, and porosity features that assist in high-performance photocatalysis. The inorganic-organic hybrid photocatalyst exhibits a narrow energy bandgap that promotes ample generation of reactive oxygen species upon visible light irradiation, as confirmed by the electrochemical and spectroscopic analysis. The BET/BJH plot for the photocatalyst reveals a large surface area of 345 m2/g, with voluminous pore distributions (2–80 nm), indicating the coexistence of mesopores-infused macroporous framework that offers better contact/equilibration of the pollutant molecules with the abundantly dispersed photoactive sites. The optimized parameters reveal ≥99.2 % drug dissipation in ≤0.33 h and drug mineralization in ≤2.0 h, using a mere 50 mg of photocatalyst irradiated with a 150 W/cm2 tungsten lamp. The synthesized photocatalyst has a simple/cost-saving procedure that can transform into scalable, cheaper, and eco-friendly products for the real-time monitoring of toxic pollutants. Besides, the photocatalyst exhibits excellent stability and reusability characteristics for efficiently decontaminating organic pollutants, thus highlighting an innovative approach for fabricating high-performance photocatalysts.
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