Synthesis of neodymium ferrite incorporated graphitic carbonitride (NdFe2O4@g-C3N4) and its application in the photodegradation of ciprofloxacin and ampicillin in a water system

Abstract

Purification of antibiotic-contaminated drinking water sources is faced with limitations. Therefore, this study incorporated neodymium ferrite (NdFe₂O₄) in graphitic carbonitride (g-C₃N₄) to form NdFe₂O₄@g-C₃N₄ as a photocatalyst for removing ciprofloxacin (CIP) and ampicillin (AMP) from aqueous systems. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a crystallite size of 25.15 nm for NdFe₂O₄ and 28.49 nm for NdFe₂O₄@g-C₃N₄. The bandgap is 2.10 and 1.98 eV for NdFe₂O₄ and NdFe₂O₄@g-C₃N₄, respectively. The transmission electron micrograph (TEM) images of NdFe₂O₄ and NdFe₂O₄@g-C₃N₄ gave an average particle size of 14.10 nm and 18.23 nm, respectively. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) images showed heterogeneous surfaces with irregular-sized particles suggesting agglomeration at the surfaces. NdFe₂O₄@g-C₃N₄ (100.00 ± 0.00% for CIP and 96.80 ± 0.80% for AMP) exhibited better photodegradation efficiency towards CIP and AMP than NdFe₂O₄ (78.45 ± 0.80% for CIP and 68.25 ± 0.60% for AMP) in a process described by pseudo-first-order kinetics. NdFe₂O₄@g-C₃N₄ showed a stable regeneration capacity towards degradation of CIP and AMP with a capacity that is above 95% even at the 15th cycle of treatment. The use of NdFe₂O₄@g-C₃N₄ in this study revealed its potential as a promising photocatalyst for removing CIP and AMP in water systems.