Photocatalytic removal of the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin from aqueous solutions using Fe-dopedTiO2@Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles

Antibiotics are stable compounds with low biodegradability that are generally not removable by conventional wastewater treatment processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of Fe-doped TiO2@Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles in the presence of ultraviolet irradiation to photocatalytic removal of ciprofloxacin from aqueous solutions. 

The sol-gel method was used for the synthesis of Fe-doped TiO2@Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the physical and chemical properties of the catalyst were investigated by SEM, EDX, XRD, VSM and DRS analyzes. Then, the effect of different parameters including pH (3-9), initial concentration of ciprofloxacin (25-75 mg/l) and catalyst dose (0.6 to 0.2 g/l) at different times in photocatalytic elimination of ciprofloxacin were studied.

The results showed that the highest removal efficiency 99.1 % and reaction rate constant of ciprofloxacin the presence of 15-watt UVC radiation was obtained at pH 9, initial concentration of 25 mg/l, catalyst dose of 0.6 g/l and contact time of 60 min, respectively. The stability of nanoparticles after 5 reuses had a good removal rate.

Due to the appropriate removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin by the integrated system Fe-doped TiO2@Fe3O4 + UVC, the application of this process in water and wastewater treatment processes is recommended.