Fabrication of UiO-66/GCN, a Hybrid Photocatalyst, for Effective Degradation of Ciprofloxacin, Toxicity Estimation, and Its Antibacterial Activity

Fabrication of a metal-organic framework-based photocatalyst has been gaining much interest due to its higher surface area and reasonable band gap, enhancing its photocatalytic activity. This study attempted a facile synthesis of the hybrid photocatalyst UiO-66 doped with graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) by a simple solvothermal method. This composite minimized the drawback related to photogenerated charge transfer and recombination and helped the absorption of visible light. The material was investigated by using various instrumental techniques. In this work, ciprofloxacin (CIP), a fluoroquinolone drug, was chosen as a target micropollutant, and a photodegradation experiment was carried out by using UiO-66, GCN, and UiO-66/GCN under a visible light source, which exhibited 81.85, 69.48, and 93.60% of degradation, respectively. Finally, liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis and theoretical computation were carried out to identify the CIP degradation mechanism, and T.E.S.T. software was used to investigate the toxicity of the intermediate products. Apart from photocatalytic activity, the prepared material was also tested for its antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.