Sol–gel synthesis of photoactive Ag2O/Y3Fe5O12 nanojunctions for promoted degradation of ciprofloxacin under visible light

Abstract

The development in ceramic oxide photocatalysts has become an attractive research point regarding the photostability for environmental remediation of antibiotic waste in the water. Ciprofloxacin (CPF) is an emerging antibiotic model accumulated recently in water resources. This research familiarizes a tri-block copolymer templated synthesis of yttrium iron garnet (YFO) nanoparticles followed by decoration of low amounts (0.5−2.0 wt%) of silver oxide (Ag2O) to design Ag2O/YFO nanojunctions. The produced heterostructures were characterized by different techniques and proved the enhanced photoactivity of YFO by loading with Ag2O without changing the crystalline structural or surface texture. The 1.5 wt% Ag2O/YFO presented superior visible-light absorbance and bandgap energy reduction from 2.72 to 2.34 eV. The optimized dose of the 1.5 wt% Ag2O/YFO displayed a promoted photodegradation of CPF in 30 min with extraordinary photostability after five runs. The enhanced performance of Ag2O/YFO is ascribed to the competent separation of the photoinduced charges through the nanoheterojunction structure. This exertion draws the route toward the future ceramic oxide-based photocatalysts for ecological remediation of antibiotic waste in water.