Photocatalytic degradation of Cefazolin over spherical nanoparticles of TiO2/ZSM-5 mesoporous nanoheterojunction under simulated solar light

Abstract

Abstract A nanoheterojunction photocatalyst of the spherical titanium dioxide (TSN) over ZSM-5 mesoporous was synthesized by the ecofriendly direct co-template technique with assisting of the solvent evaporation to photodegrade harmful Cefazolin compound from drinking water under simulated solar light illumination. The fabricated nanoheterojunction photocatalyst shown an efficient performance by a near-complete degrade of Cefazolin compound with an estimated efficiency of 98.5% under optimum conditions. Many parameters were considered in details, including pH solution, catalyst loading, kinetic studies, initial concentrations, optical bandgap, intermediate compounds, regeneration and the reusability. The prepared TSN@ ZSM-5 mesoporous was effectively activated in the weak acid pH region of 6.5. The data results revealed that a remarkable photodegradation of Cefazolin on the spherical TiO2 nanoparticles enhanced by the cylindrical hollow of the ZSM-5 mesoporous, which has a preferable as photogenerated delivery of the e − /h + reducing the recombination rate. High specific surface area with wide pore volume of 360 m2 g−1 & 0.42 cm3 g−1, respectively, enhanced the absorbance capacity of Cefazolin compound. The maximum absorption capacity was 1.24 mg/g under the optimum conditions. Moreover, a magnificent optical bandgap of the synthesized TSN@ ZSM-5 mesoporous was obtained. The prepared nanoheterojunction photocatalyst is well conformable the pseudo second order model and it has a high correlation coefficient of R-square is 0.9869. The data were also given by the fact that the Cefazolin compound was highly degraded with the assisting of the superoxide specie including anion radical of the •O 2 − . The Cefazolin and their intermediate compounds were decomposed to less noxious compound using the synthesized TSN@ ZSM-5 mesoporous. Although many cycles of use, the nanoheterojuncation photocatalyst was maintained its high performance with excellent durability. According to the overall results, the proposed nanoheterojunction photocatalyst can have a potential credit for participating in the wastewater treatment plant to get rid of the risk effects of the medical waste in the aqueous media.