Effective visible light-driven binary ZnO catalyst decorated on layered double hydroxides for simultaneous photocatalytic degradation of Ciprofloxacin and Ampicillin

The direct use of clean solar energy to convert organic pollutants in industrial wastewater into harmful products is a viable tactic and a hot topic to save water bodies and avoid water pollution. Pharmaceutical wastewater is complicated and contains a variety of contaminants, making its treatment difficult. This study focuses on the simultaneous degradation of an aqueous solution containing a combination of contaminants, Ampicillin (AMP) and Ciprofloxacin (CIP). Using hydrothermal process, we successfully fabricated a ZnO-NiCoMn layered double hydroxide (LDH) sheet. The prepared catalyst was examined using a range of surface analytical optical techniques. The ZnO-NiCoMn LDH demonstrates exceptional photocatalytic performance, as demonstrated by the maximal CIP and AMP degradation rates of 96 % and 94 % in 100 min under visible light, respectively, according to the data. ZnO-adorned NiCoMn LDH sheets exhibited a rod-like structure, as demonstrated by FE-SEM and HR-TEM. Because of the highest charge separation and superior electron (e−) transport between ZnO and NiCoMn LDH material, the binary catalyst degraded CIP and AMP by 96 % and 94 % in 100 min, respectively, more than the bare catalyst. The binary ZnO-NiCoMn LDH catalyst could withstand up to five CIP and AMP degradation cycles.