V/Zn Incorporated-MCM-41: Synthesis, Characterization and Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity for Tetracycline Degradation

Abstract Water pollution by pharmaceutical pollutants such as antibiotics represents a serious environmental crisis which is rising day by day. So, the development of new efficient visible light photocatalysts has long been imperative to address the water pollution. In this study, zinc/vanadium (Zn/V) incorporated MCM-41 (Mobil Composition of Matter No. 41) (ZVM) has been successfully synthesized using a simple surfactant-coprecipitation assisted method and evaluated as an efficient visible light photocatalyst for tetracycline (TC) fast degradation. The effects of Zn/V metal cations’ synergistic effect on morphological, surface, optical, and removal capability of MCM-41-metal incorporated samples were explored. Compared to pure silica, ZVM mesoporous material unveiled reduced pore diameter, thicker wall and reduced Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area (BETs) with still preserved ordered hexagonal structure. Scanning electron microscopy-transmission electron microscopy (SEM-TEM) analysis revealed significant morphological changes in MCM-41 upon Zn/V incorporation. Zn/V modification reduced the MCM-41 bandgap energy and this suggests the applicability of this tailored material in solar energy photocatalysis applications. The ZVM catalyst, containing 4 wt% of each metal (Zn and V), demonstrated exceptional performance in degrading TC, achieving a degradation efficiency of 98.13% within just 25 min. The resulting material exhibited improved ion-exchange capacity, increased number of active sites, and optimized properties, leading to significantly enhanced catalytic performance in specific catalytic reactions. Additionally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism for degradation of TC over ZVM has been proposed and involvement of holes (h + ) and hydroxyl radicals as reactive species is elucidated by radical trapping experiments. These results demonstrate the potential of ZVM as an efficient visible light photocatalyst for fast degradation of tetracycline with good recovery and recyclability which can be an efficient tool to meet the UNs’ SDG:6.