Synthesis of heterostructure ferromagnetic photocatalyst FMMWCNTs@GLYMO@WO3 and its performance for photodegradation of metronidazole and acetaminophen in water

Abstract

The presence of metronidazole (MNZ) and acetaminophen (ACE) in aquatic environments has raised growing concerns regarding their potential impact on human health. Incorporating various patterns into a photolytic material is considered a key approach to achieve enhanced photocatalytic efficiency in the photocatalysis process. In this study, WO3 nanoparticles, which were immobilized onto ferromagnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes that were functionalized using (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (FMMWCNTs@GLYMO@WO3), exhibited remarkable efficiency in removing MNZ and ACE (93% and 97%) in only 15 min. In addition, the new visible-light FMMWCNTs@GLYMO@WO3 nanoparticles as a magnetically separable photocatalyst were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), EDS-mapping, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) due to detailed studies (morphological, structural, magnetic and optical properties) of the photocatalyst. The evaluation of optimal parameters, for example, concentration, amount of photocatalyst, and pH was conducted. The mechanistic study of ACE degradation presented the considerable contribution of electrons and holes in the photocatalytic reaction of photocatalysts. Furthermore, following five regeneration cycles, FMMWCNTs@GLYMO@WO3 NPs showed high performance as a ferromagnetic photocatalyst for the sustainable degradation of MNZ and ACE, achieving degradation rates of 86% and 89%, respectively.