Research on the Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Activity of BiVO₄/g-C₃N₄ and its Application in Treating Ciprofloxacin Antibiotic in Water Environment
Main Article Content
Abstract
In this study, the BiVO4/g-C3N4 composite material was successfully synthesized using a combination of the hydrothermal method and calcination, and was applied to the degradation of the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin. The material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UV−Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that BiVO4/g-C3N4 exhibited the structural, morphological, surface, and optical properties of each individual component. The formation of the BiVO4/g-C3N4 heterostructure facilitated more efficient charge transfer and suppressed electron–hole recombination, thereby enhancing the photocatalytic activity compared to pure BiVO4 and g-C3N4. Under visible light irradiation, 7 wt% BiVO4/g-C3N4 was identified as the optimal composition, achieving a Ciprofloxacin degradation efficiency of 76.45% after 360 survey minutes at pH = 7 and an initial concentration of 10 ppm.
Keywords:
BiVO4/g-C3N4, composite material, photocatalyst, Ciprofloxacin.
References
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[3] P. Grenni, V. Ancona, A. Barra Caracciolo, Ecological Effects of Antibiotics on Natural Ecosystems: A Review, Microchemical Journal, Vol. 136, 2018, pp. 25-39.
[4] M. Imran, A. Z. Abdullah, M. E. Khan, A. Mohammad, A Focused Review on Photocatalytic Potential of Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4) Based Metal Oxide-nanostructures for Effective Remediation of most Overused Antibiotics, Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 373, 2025, pp. 123759.
[5] J. Pei, H. Li, S. Zhuang, D. Zhang, D. Yu, Recent Advances in g-C3N4 Photocatalysts: A Review of Reaction Parameters, Structure Design and Exfoliation Methods, Catalysts, Vol. 13, No. 11, 2023, pp. 1402.
[6] M. Imran, A. Z. Abdullah, M. E. Khan, A. Mohammad, A Focused Review on Photocatalytic Potential of Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4) based Metal Oxide-nanostructures for Effective Remediation of most Overused Antibiotics, Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 373, 2025, pp. 123759.
[7] Y. Huang, M. Jiang, S. Gao, W. Wang, Z. Liu, R. Yuan, Non-radical Pathway Dominated by Singlet Oxygen under High Salinity Condition Towards Efficient Degradation of Organic Pollutants and Inhibition of AOX Formation, Separation and Purification Technology, Vol. 291, 2022, pp. 120921.
[8] J. Pei, H. Li, D. Yu, D. Zhang, g-C3N4 Based Heterojunction for Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance: A Review of Fabrications, Applications, and Perspectives, Catalysts, Vol. 14, No. 11, 2024, pp. 825.
[9] J. A. V. García, R. L. Domínguez, J. M. Marugán, J. D. Luna, J. A. Lorente, P. C. Sáez, Exploring the Interplay between Climate, Population Immunity and SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Dynamics in Mediterranean Countries, Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 897, 2023, pp. 165487.
[10] S. Dong, G. J. Lee, R. Zhou, J. J. Wu, Synthesis of g-C3N4/BiVO4 Heterojunction Composites for Photocatalytic Degradation of Nonylphenol Ethoxylate, Separation and Purification Technology, Vol. 250, 2020, pp. 117202.
[11] T. Alizadeh, S. Nayeri, N. Hamidi, Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4)/graphite Nanocomposite as an Extraordinarily Sensitive Sensor for Sub-micromolar Detection of Oxalic Acid in Biological Samples, RSC Advances, Vol. 9, 2019, pp. 13096-13103.
[12] M. Z. Abid, K. Rafiq, A. Rauf, S. S. A. Shah, R. Jin, E. Hussain, Synergism of Co/Na in BiVO4 Microstructures for Visible-light Driven Degradation of Toxic Dyes in Water, Nanoscale Advances, Vol. 5, 2023, pp. 3247-3259.
[13] S. Das, S. Ghosh, A. J. Misra, A. J. Tamhankar, A. Mishra, C. S. Lundborg, S. K. Tripathy, Sunlight Assisted Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin in Water using Fe Doped ZnO Nanoparticles for Potential Public Health Applications, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 15, No. 11, 2018, pp. 2440.
[14] J. Radić, G. Žerjav, L. Jurko, P. Bošković, L. F. Zemljič, A. Vesel, A. Mavrič, M. Gudelj, O. Plohl, First Utilization of Magnetically-assisted Photocatalytic Iron Oxide–TiO2 Nanocomposites for the Degradation of the Problematic Antibiotic Ciprofloxacin in an Aqueous Environment, Magnetochemistry, Vol. 10, No. 9, 2024, pp. 66.
[15] I. Mazhar, M. Afzaal, M. Altaf, M. Sohail, R. S. Ashraf, A. S. Nizami, Structurally Engineered Monolithic Catalyst for Enhanced Sunlight-driven Degradation of Ciprofloxacin in Contaminated Water Systems, Discover Sustainability, Vol. 6, 2025, pp. 606.
[16] H. Chi, P. Cao, Q. Shi, C. Song, Y. Lv, T. Peng, Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin by GO/ZnO/Ag Composite Materials, Nanomaterials, Vol. 15, No. 5, 2025, pp. 383.