Enhance Solar-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Norfloxacin Aqueous Solution by RGO-Based CdxZn1-xS Alloy Composite with Band-Gap Tuneability

The development of efficient photocatalyst for effective removal of antibiotics from aqueous solution is of great significance to protect the human and aquatic animals from antibiotic-resistant. Herein, we report the solar light-responsive photocatalytic activity of CdxZn1-xS alloy semiconducting nanorods towards the degradation of norfloxacin, which is a widely used for treatment at reverse transcriptase inhibitor Urinary tract infection / respiratory tract infections and hospital-acquired infections. The Cd0.8Zn0.2S alloy nanorod photocatalyst shows the highest photocatalytic activity with 71% degradation efficiency, which increases significantly with high degradation efficiency of 90%, after the formation of composite with RGO (reduced graphene oxide). In the composite, the RGO mats provide a duel role; it acts as a nucleation center as well as solid support for CdxZn1-xS nanorods. The accountable reactive species for the degradation of norfloxacin are also explored expansively which exhibits that the hole has the most dominating role toward the degradation of norfloxacin. This work paves a simple eco-friendly green pathway for the efficient removal of antibiotics aquatic pollutants under solar illumination.