Visible light-driven photodegradation of ciprofloxacin over sol-gel prepared Bi2O3-modified La-doped NaTaO3 nanostructures

Abstract The rise of antibiotic waste becomes an urgent problem for humankind and the environment. The emission of this waste in water impacts the health of the population and decreases antibiotics’ efficacy. Consequently, numerous studies and tactics have been applied for spotless and harmless removal of these substances. Here, we describe a sol-gel amalgamation of visible-light responsive nanocrystalline La-doped NaTaO3 perovskites (LNTO) modified with a low quantity of Bi2O3 (BO) at x =1.0‒4.0 wt.% to make x%BO/LNTO nanocomposites. The obtained BO/LNTO displayed mesoporous surfaces with significant surface areas (178∼198 m2 g‒1). Additionally, the proper ratio of BO to LNTO demonstrates wide harvesting in the visible range and a notable drop in the bandgap energy (Eg) to 2.73 eV from 4.12 eV in neat LNTO. The prepared nanocomposites were employed for the photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) as an emergent antibiotic target. 3%BO/LNTO achieved complete photodegradation of CIP after 120 min of visible-light irrdiation while maintaining high reusability. The high photocatalytic performance of BO/LNTO is due to the close junction of BO and LNTO, which improves the photoinduced charge transfer and Eg suppression. The present study suggests the application of modified perovskites for improved photoelimination of antibiotics.