Investigation of photocatalytic degradation of diclofenac sodium and acetaminophen by Zn-Ag co-doped barium hexaferrite@CNTs Composite
Amna Irshad, M.H.H. Mahmoud, Usman Usman, Rafia Umer, Muhammad Naeem, Islam H. El Azab, Zeinhom M. El‐Bahy
Abstract
Herein, a facile coprecipitation route was followed to synthesize Zn-Ag co-doped barium hexaferrite (ABHF) and its nanocomposite with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using the ultrasonication method. Various characterization techniques were used to analyze the structure and optical properties. The bandgap energy of BHF and ABHF was 2.16 eV, and 2.09 eV respectively. Diclofenac sodium and acetaminophen were used to study the photocatalytic activity of the synthesized samples. It was noted that the bare sample showed 29.46% and 44.96% degradation for diclofenac sodium and acetaminophen respectively. The highest catalytic activity was shown by the nanocomposite (ABHF@CNTs) that degraded 70.87% and 84.34% of diclofenac sodium and acetaminophen respectively. Photodegradation of diclofenac sodium and acetaminophen (pharmaceutical drugs) was increased due to a reduction in bandgap energy (Eg), increased surface area, and prolonged e--h+ pair recombination of the synthesized samples.