Highly efficient visible light driven photocatalytic activity of zinc/ferrite: Carbamazepine degradation, mechanism and toxicity assessment

In this present study, spherical shaped zinc ferrite (Zn/Fe2O4) was prepared as uniformly sized (65 +/- 0.5 nm) nanoparticles with band gap (2.00 eV) in a visible light regime and employed for the photocatalytic degradation of carbamazepine (CBZ). The doping of Zn decreased the band gap (from 2.00 to 1.98 eV) and enhanced the absorption of visible light. Zinc doping also induced effective separation of photogenerated carriers and subsequent charge migration to the surface of the Zn/Fe2O4 nanoparticle. On account of the advantages of the material, a high removal efficiency (similar to 100%) of CBZ through photocatalytic degradation was achieved. Kinetics of CBZ degradation follows a pseudo first-order with the rate constant 0.0367 min(-1). In-vitro and in-vivo toxicity of the nanoparticles were examined promoting the environmental implications.

Automated summary

In this study, spherical zinc ferrite nanoparticles were prepared with uniform size and a band gap suitable for visible light absorption. Zinc doping enhanced the absorption of visible light and improved the separation of photogenerated carriers, resulting in effective photocatalytic degradation of CBZ. The material showed high removal efficiency and a pseudo first-order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.0367 min(-1). In-vitro and in-vivo toxicity of the nanoparticles were also examined for environmental implications.