Magnetic MXene/g-C3N4 nano catalyst for photocatalytic degradation of clindamycin contaminate in wastewater
Hadeel F. Abbas, Khalid K. Abbas, Ahmed Al-Ghaban
Abstract
The increasing concerns surrounding micropollutant contamination necessitate urgent and effective strategies for their elimination. Several stages explored the photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical contaminants in wastewater using novel magnetic g-C 3 N 4 /MXene nano photocatalysts are synthesized in this work. The surface chemistry, morphology, crystallinity, surface area, and propensity to participate in electron transfer reactions of the g-C 3 N 4 /MXene nano were characterized using a set of analytical measurements. These analyses confirmed the successful formation of a unique complex with ferromagnetic properties conferred by incorporating Fe 3 O 4 . After 120 min of sunlight exposure, the g-C 3 N 4 /MXene magnetic catalyst showed a superior reduction of 92 % of clindamycin in real wastewater. High organic carbon removal of > 38 % was also observed after the 2 h period. The study also observed the stability of the catalyst over four cycles, maintaining a removal level of > 58 %, highlighting its potential applications in water treatment processes by increasing the interlayer spacing, g-C 3 N 4, and MXene combined to produce an excellent surface area with more active sites on their surface, which enhanced the transfer of electron/hole pairs and provided excellent degradation capacity.