Tetracyclines (TTCs), a widely used group of antibiotics
in agriculture
and animal husbandry, cause water pollution and the emergence of antibiotic-resistance
genes. This study reports the synthesis of a metal–organic
framework nanocomposite of UiO-66 based on modified dendritic fibrous
nanosilica to act as a photocatalyst for the degradation of doxycycline
(DOX) and TTC as drug model pollutants in water. This nanocomposite
demonstrated about three times better photodegradation performance
than UiO-66 due to a decreased electron–hole recombination
rate, increased conductivity, and decreased band gap, leading to the
higher pollutant reduction efficiency. Structural and morphological
analyses were performed on the nanocomposite, and various influencing
parameters, including sample pH, catalyst dose, and irradiation time,
were studied on the photocatalytic degradation of DOX and TTC to optimize
the photodegradation process. At the optimum condition, the maximum
photodegradation of 97.2 ± 3.1% was achieved for solutions containing
200 mg·L–1 each drug. The results showed that
the proposed photocatalyst is stable and effective in eliminating
TTC-class pollutants from water and wastewater with high efficiency
and fast kinetics. The reusability of the catalyst was examined, and
no significant decrease in the efficiency of the catalyst was observed
after five times.