Hydrothermally synthesized mesoporous CS-g-PA@TSM functional nanocomposite for efficient photocatalytic degradation of Ciprofloxacin and treatment of metal ions

Tin-based ternary inorganic semiconductors enable new opportunities for the development of functional hydrogel nanocomposites to cope with environmental pollution. In this regard, we have synthesized highly functionalize CS-g-PA@TSM nanocomposites by the impregnation of Tin-Si/Mo (TSM) semiconductor in the matrix of chitosan/polyacrylamide (CS-g-PA) using the hydrothermal route. Multifunction platform showed ammonia vapor sensing, fluorescent detection as well as removal and exchange recovery of lead ions from wastewater and its photocatalytic behavior towards antibiotic degradation. The CS-g-PA@TSM nanocomposite achieved almost 96% photodegradation towards Ciprofloxacin (CIP) after 130 min of irradiation which was further monitored and confirmed by 3-D excitation-emission matrix fluorescence and GC-MS techniques, respectively. The photocatalytic mechanism of the CS-g-PA@TSM under visible light irradiation was clarified, which established the generation of O-center dot(2)- / center dot OH species in the form of dominant radicals. The experimental results indicated that the improved photocatalytic performance of CS-g-PA@TSM could be attributed to enhance the optical absorption and efficient separation along with the migration of photoinduced charge carriers. The nanomaterial also exhibits significant Pb2+ recovery (95.6%) from wastewater with a limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) as 3.38 mu g L-1 and 9.34 mu g L-1, respectively. The CS-g-PA@TSM nanocomposite was successfully employed up to five regeneration cycles with 98% regeneration capacity. Thus, the finding of the present study establishes that the multifunctional CS-g-PA@TSM nanocomposite platform could be used for the treatment of antibiotics (CIP), ammonia, and Pb2+ from wastewater. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study synthesized highly functionalized CS-g-PA@TSM nanocomposites using the hydrothermal route, with capabilities including ammonia vapor sensing, fluorescent detection, lead ion removal, and photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics. The nanocomposites showed improved photocatalytic performance and significant lead ion recovery from wastewater.