Graphitic carbon nitride-modified cerium ferrite: an efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, and erythromycin in aqueous solution

Abstract Incomplete removal of antibiotics by most known wastewater treatment plants is a global challenge. Therefore, graphitic carbon nitride-modified cerium ferrite (CeFe 2 O 4 @g-C 3 N 4 ) was synthesized to remove antibiotics (ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and erythromycin) from water. CeFe 2 O 4 @g-C 3 N 4 showed activity in the visible light with a Tauc plot revealing the bandgap energy (2.46 eV). The scanning electron micrograph (SEM) result revealed the surface of CeFe 2 O 4 @g-C 3 N 4 to be heterogeneous, while the transmission electron micrograph (TEM) image confirmed a flaky with rod and oval shaped surface (average particle size of 42.22 nm). CeFe 2 O 4 @g-C 3 N 4 exhibited a 100% removal of all the studied antibiotics from aqueous solution in a photocatalytic degradation that is described by pseudo-1st-order kinetics. CeFe 2 O 4 @g-C 3 N 4 demonstrated a high regeneration capacity, which is above 90% at the 12th cycle of treatment without any observable changes in its phase structure which suggests a promising chemical stability and reusability. CeFe 2 O 4 @g-C 3 N 4 compared favourably with some selected antibiotic degradable photocatalysts suggesting the economic viable of CeFe 2 O 4 @g-C 3 N 4 as photocatalyst for the purification of antibiotics-contaminated water. Graphical Abstract