One-pot synthesis of BaTi0.85Zr0.15O3/MOF-199 (HKUST-1) as a highly efficient photocatalytic nanocomposite for tetracycline degradation under UV irradiation

BaTi0.85Zr0.15O3/MOF-199 (HKUST-1) nanocomposite was prepared by a one-pot method and characterized via various methods such as XRD, FT-IR, TG and DTG, SEM equipped with an EDX analyzer, X-ray mapping, UV-Vis DRS, TEM, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and N2 adsorption-desorption (for BET surface area mea-surement). The BaTi0.85Zr0.15O3/MOF-199 (30 wt%) exhibited best degradation efficiency of tetracycline (TC), BaTi0.85Zr0.15O3/MOF-199 (10 wt%) and BaTi0.85Zr0.15O3/MOF-199 (20 wt%).The photocatalyst used in this work is a novel, nanocomposite-based compound. The average crystallite size of the composite estimated by the Williamson-Hall equation was 41.7 nm. For the indirect electronic transitions of MOF-199 (HKUST-1), BaTi0.85Zr0.15O3, and BaTi0.85Zr0.15O3/MOF-199 (HKUST-1) nanocomposite, the band gap energies of 3.81, 3.20, and 3.00 eV, respectively, were obtained. The nanocomposite point of zero charges (pHpzc) was estimated at 5.5. The nanocomposite was then utilized in the photodegradation of tetracycline (TC). Due to the smallest electron/ hole recombination process, the composite exhibited the smallest PL intensity and the maximum photocatalytic activity, owing to the smallest electron/hole recombination process. The result showed that in TC degradation, the pH of the solution, time-CTC interactions, irradiation times, and time-pH remained highly significant ele-ments. The most suitable degradation extent was acquired at pH of 9, catalyst dose of 0.6 gL(-1), TC concentration of 30 mgL-1, and irradiation time of 180 min. Between Z-scheme mechanisms and type II-heterojunction, the former played a major role in the photodegradation of TC.