Abstract
In this work, carbon dots (CD) were synthesized and coupled to titanium dioxide (TiO2) to improve the photodegradation of antibiotics in aquaculture effluents under solar irradiation. Oxolinic acid (OXA) and sulfadiazine (SDZ), which are widely used in aquaculture, were used as target antibiotics. To prepare nanocomposites of CD containing TiO2, two modes were used: in-situ (CD@TiO2) and ex-situ (CD/TiO2). For CD synthesis, citric acid and glycerol were used, while for TiO2 synthesis, titanium butoxide was the precursor. In ultrapure water (UW), CD@TiO2 and CD/TiO2 showed the largest photocatalytic effect for SDZ and OXA, respectively. Compared with their absence, the presence of CD@TiO2 increased the photodegradation of SDZ from 23 to 97% (after 4 h irradiation), whereas CD/TiO2 increased the OXA photodegradation from 22 to 59% (after 1 h irradiation). Meanwhile, in synthetic sea salts (SSS, 30‰, simulating marine aquaculture effluents), CD@TiO2 allowed for the reduction of SDZ’s half-life time (t1/2) from 14.5 ± 0.7 h (in absence of photocatalyst) to 0.38 ± 0.04 h. Concerning OXA in SSS, the t1/2 remained the same either in the absence of a photocatalyst or in the presence of CD/TiO2 (3.5 ± 0.3 h and 3.9 ± 0.4 h, respectively). Overall, this study provided novel perspectives on the use of eco-friendly CD-TiO2 nanocomposites for the removal of antibiotics from aquaculture effluents using solar radiation.
Highlights
Aquaculture has become the major source of global food-fish production [1]
As menti synthesis was performed by obtained carbonization of citric glycerol in the presence a source of the nitrogen obtained from source
The main objective of this work was to investigate the photodegradation of two antibiotics applied in aquaculture—SDZ and oxolinic acid (OXA)—using a solar radiation simulator in the presence of carbon dots (CD) coupled with TiO2
Summary
Aquaculture has become the major source of global food-fish production [1]. In order to satisfy the demand of fish and aquatic species, between 1990 and 2018, global aquaculture production increased by 527% [2]. Organisms produced in every type of aquaculture are prone to disease. Either for treatment or just as a prophylactic measure, antibiotics are widely employed. Sulfonamides (SAs) and quinolones (QAs) are two families of antibiotics used worldwide for the treatment of a large range of infections [3,4,5,6]. A recent study on the 15 major aquaculture-producing countries revealed that, within SAs, sulfadiazine (SDZ) was the most used antibiotic, with application in 72.7% of these countries [1]. As for QAs, ciprofloxacin (CIP), oxolinic acid (OXA), and enrofloxacin (ENR) led the way, with 45.5% (for both CIP and OXA) and 54.5%
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