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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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Discover Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01396-2 |
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| author | Iqra Mazhar Muhammad Afzaal Muhammad Altaf Manzar Sohail Raja Shahid Ashraf Abdul-Sattar Nizami |
| author_facet | Iqra Mazhar Muhammad Afzaal Muhammad Altaf Manzar Sohail Raja Shahid Ashraf Abdul-Sattar Nizami |
| author_sort | Iqra Mazhar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eacc8aec345e4f32a7e2dc96db1b0571 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2662-9984 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-eacc8aec345e4f32a7e2dc96db1b05712025-08-20T03:03:19ZengSpringerDiscover Sustainability2662-99842025-07-016112010.1007/s43621-025-01396-2Structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight-driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systemsIqra Mazhar0Muhammad Afzaal1Muhammad Altaf2Manzar Sohail3Raja Shahid Ashraf4Abdul-Sattar Nizami5Sustainable Development Study Centre, Government College UniversitySustainable Development Study Centre, Government College UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Government College UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Sciences and TechnologyDepartment of Chemistry, Government College UniversitySustainable Development Study Centre, Government College UniversityAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01396-2Monolithic catalystPhotocatalytic degradationZinc oxideSilverCiprofloxacin |
| spellingShingle | Iqra Mazhar Muhammad Afzaal Muhammad Altaf Manzar Sohail Raja Shahid Ashraf Abdul-Sattar Nizami Structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight-driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systems Discover Sustainability Monolithic catalyst Photocatalytic degradation Zinc oxide Silver Ciprofloxacin |
| title | Structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight-driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systems |
| title_full | Structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight-driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systems |
| title_fullStr | Structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight-driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight-driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systems |
| title_short | Structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight-driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systems |
| title_sort | structurally engineered monolithic catalyst for enhanced sunlight driven degradation of ciprofloxacin in contaminated water systems |
| topic | Monolithic catalyst Photocatalytic degradation Zinc oxide Silver Ciprofloxacin |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01396-2 |
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