Enhancement in photocatalytic activity of NiO by supporting onto an Iranian clinoptilolite nano-particles of aqueous solution of cefuroxime pharmaceutical capsule

NiO/nano-clinoptilolite (NiO-NCP) was prepared by ion exchanging process of the prepared ball-mill nano-clinoptilolite particles with nickel(II) chloride aqueous solution. The prepared composite was characterized by XRD, UV-Vis DRS, TEM and FT-IR and then used as a catalyst in the photodegradation of cefuroxime (CF) using Hg lamp. The best experimental parameters were obtained as: 0.025 g L-1 of the photocatalyst containing 13.3% NiO, 50 times diluted cefuroxime solution at pH 5. The degradation extent was monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy and the results were confirmed by HPLC and COD. The kinetics of the photodegradation process obeyed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.