Optimized Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin Using Nano SnO2 Thin Films: Kinetic Studies and Operational Parameters

Pharmaceuticals constitute the largest group of organic pollutants discharged into wastewater by manufacturers and healthcare institutions. Therefore, the development of effective methods for degrading these pollutants is crucial for environmental protection. The pharmaceutical medication waste ciprofloxacin, which has several uses, was degraded using a thin film of a SnO2 photocatalyst supported on the polymer. Among the tested semiconductors, SnO2 thin film, which was found to be the best photocatalyst for ciprofloxacin degradation. Operational parameters were explored to optimize the conditions for the complete removal of pharmaceutical pollutants from aqueous solutions including various factors affect the ciprofloxacin degradation kinetics. In this study, kinetic studies of the photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin were performed. This study demonstrated that SnO2 was the most efficient photocatalyst for ciprofloxacin degradation among the tested materials, reaching an optimum degradation rate of 89 %. The SnO2 photocatalyst was utilized in five consecutive batches, yielding consistent and acceptable results and demonstrating its reusability over four cycles. The percentage degradation of this antibiotic increased with increasing irradiation time. This clearly indicated that the efficiency decreased with increasing initial drug concentration. Among the studied pH ranges, pH 3 was found to be the optimal solution for ciprofloxacin degradation. The inclusion of 0.01M concentration of H2O2 in the Ciprofloxacin solution exhibited the most significant degradation efficacy. Here, we introduce SnO2-Polymer as a good catalyst for removal Ciprofloxacin from wastewater.