Comparative evaluation of α-Bi2O3/CoFe2O4 and ZnO/CoFe2O4 heterojunction nanocomposites for microwave induced catalytic degradation of tetracycline

Two microwave (MW) responsive heterojunction nanocomposite catalysts, i.e., α-Bi2O3/CoFe2O4 (BO/CFO) and ZnO/CoFe2O4 (ZO/CFO), with weight% ratio of 70/30, 50/50, 30/70 were synthesized by sequential thermal decomposition and co-precipitation methods, and used for the degradation of tetracycline (TC) under MW irradiation. The formation of desired catalysts was confirmed through the characterization results of XRD, FT-IR, SEM, VSM, UV-DRS, XPS, BET, etc. Using batch MW experiments, the catalyst dose, pH, initial TC concentration, reaction temperature, and MW power were optimized for TC removal. Under the following reaction conditions: catalyst dose ∼1 g/L, initial TC concentration ∼1 mg/L, temperature ∼90 °C, MW ∼450 W, BO/CFO, and ZO/CFO showed ∼97.55% and 88.23% TC degradation, respectively, after 5 min. The difference in the catalytic response against TC degradation indicated the difference in reflective loss (RL) between these two catalysts. The presence of other competitive anions has affected the removal efficiency of TC due to the scavenging effect. The radical trapping study revealed the significant contribution of TC degradation by hydroxyl radicals in the case of ZO/CFO, whereas for BO/CFO, superoxide (●O2−) and hydroxyl radicals (●OH) both played influential roles. The Z-scheme heterojunction of BO/CFO allowed the formation of ●O2− but the same was inhibited in type-II heterojunction of ZO/CFO due to the valance band position. The dielectric loss, magnetic loss, interfacial polarization, and high electrical conductivity, ‘hotspots’ were produced over the catalyst surface alongside electron-hole separation at heterojunctions, which were responsible for the generation of reactive oxygen species. In addition, Co3+/Co2+ and Fe3+/Fe2+ redox cycles have promoted ●O2− and sulfate radical production during persulfate application. Among the two MW responsive catalysts, BO/CFO could be a potential material for rapidly destroying emerging organic pollutants from wastewater without applying other oxidative chemicals under MW irradiation. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd