Visible active natural hematite ore incorporated ZnO composite for efficient photodegradation of ciprofloxacin

ABSTRACT

Natural hematite ore incorporated ZnO (FOZ) was developed hydrothermally and characterised by UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS-UV), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), elemental colour mapping, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The DRS-UV spectrum of FOZ has increased absorbance in the UV and visible region compared to ZnO. The PL intensity of FOZ is less than the ZnO photocatalyst due to the decrease in electron–hole recombination. XRD pattern confirmed the formation of rhombohedral structure of hematite and the hexagonal primitive structure of ZnO. FE-SEM images indicate that ZnO nanoparticles are highly dispersed over the surface of the hematite ore. The elemental mapping evidence higher density of Zn and O and there is even dispersion of Zn, O, Fe, Ti and Si. The FOZ composite was used for the photodegradation of ciprofloxacin (CF) and methylene blue (MB) under visible light. This study was optimised by catalyst dosage, CF concentration and with the presence of various radical scavengers. FOZ composite degraded 98.45% of ciprofloxacin in 60 min. Further, the excellent recyclability of FOZ was well maintained even after multiple cycles on photocatalytic reaction.

KEYWORDS:

• Natural hematite ore
• ZnO
• photodegradation
• ciprofloxacin
• organic dye

Acknowledgments

The author, K.S. acknowledges Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education for providing research fellowship and necessary facilities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.