Enhanced degradation of ciprofloxacin in water using ternary photocatalysts TiO/SnO/g-CN under UV, visible, and solar light.

In this study, we report on the synthesis of ternary photocatalysts comprising TiO/SnO/g-CN for the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in water. SnO nanoparticles were synthesized via the sol-gel method, while g-CN was obtained through melamine calcination. Commercial TiO and SnO nanopowders were also used. The heterojunctions were synthesized via the wet impregnation method. The photocatalysts were characterized via various techniques, including XRD, TEM, STEM, FTIR, N adsorption, UV-Vis DR, and hole tests. Photocatalytic degradation tests of CIP were carried out under UV, visible, and solar radiation. The P25/npA/g-CN (90/10) material exhibited the best performance, achieving CIP degradation of over 97%. The synthesized materials demonstrated excellent initial adsorption of CIP, around 30%, which facilitated subsequent degradation. Notably, the CIP photocatalytic degradation tests performed under solar radiation showed a synergistic effect between the base materials and carbon nitride in highly energetic environments. These results highlight the effectiveness of ternary photocatalysts TiO/SnO/g-CN for CIP degradation, particularly under solar radiation.