Structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight-driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systems
Abstract The persistence of pharmaceutical contaminants in water systems poses significant environmental and health risks, necessitating innovative and sustainable remediation strategies. This study examines the development of a structurally engineered monolithic photocatalyst for the efficient degr...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Discover Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01396-2 |
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| Summary: | Abstract The persistence of pharmaceutical contaminants in water systems poses significant environmental and health risks, necessitating innovative and sustainable remediation strategies. This study examines the development of a structurally engineered monolithic photocatalyst for the efficient degradation of ciprofloxacin, a widely used antibiotic that contributes to water pollution and antimicrobial resistance. Herein, a novel silver-doped zinc oxide (Ag:ZnO) catalyst grown on graphene-nanosheets/nickel foam (Ni/GF) is reported, specifically designed to enhance photocatalytic activity and stability in complex water matrices. The hexagonal ZnO nanorods, coupled with cubic silver nanoparticles embedded within graphene nanosheets, provided superior physicochemical and electrochemical properties. Morphological and functional analysis exhibited evidence of metallic silver formation. UV–visible spectrum showed red shift with the increase of silver concentration (380–390 nm), reflecting lowering of band gap ranging from 3.10 to 2.44 eV, enhancing the light absorption capacity of the catalyst. The optimized 3% Ag:ZnO/Ni/GF catalyst demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic performance, exhibiting remarkably low overpotentials (HER: 210 mV; OER: 84 mV), minimal charge transfer resistance (HER: 7.47Ω; OER: 1.65Ω), and a high Tafel slope due to bubbles formation (HER: 101.18 mV/dec; OER: 79 mV/dec) at a current density of 10 mA/cm2 in an alkaline electrolyte. The sunlight-assisted photocatalytic degradation efficiency of optimized catalyst exhibited maximum of 78% removal in 70 min, twice the efficiency of pure ZnO/Ni/GF (37%). The photodegradation trend followed by monolithic catalyst: 3%Ag:ZnO/Ni/GF > 5%Ag:ZnO/Ni/GF > 1%Ag:ZnO/Ni/GF > pureZnO/Ni/GF. The reusability assessment indicated excellent photostability, with minimal deactivation of 1.5% after three cycles. These findings assist in scaling up the monolithic catalyst for real wastewater systems. |
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| ISSN: | 2662-9984 |