Photocatalytic degradation of sulfadiazine by Zn3(PO4)2/BiPO4 composites upon UV light irradiation

Abstract In this work, (1−x) Zn3(PO4)2/x BiPO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) composites were synthesized by coprecipitation method. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy SEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The degradation of sulfadiazine by composites catalysts under UV irradiation was investigated. The photocatalytic results indicated that all the composites prepared exhibited higher photocatalytic activities than that of pure Zn3(PO4)2. The best degradation performance is obtained when using the (1−x) Zn3(PO4)2/x BiPO4 (x = 0,7) composite catalyst. The complete degradation of sulfadiazine can be achieved after 240 min of UV irradiation in the presence of this composite catalyst. Furthermore, the rate of mineralization in the presence of this composite is 3 times greater than that of Zn3(PO4)2 and 1.5 greater than that of BiPO4. Finally, this catalyst was found to be fairly photostable during four regeneration cycles.