Magnetically separable N/S doped Fe3O4 embedded on MoO3 nanorods for photodegradation of cefixime, Cr(VI) reduction, and its genotoxicity study

Herein, a multifunctional magnetic N or S doped Fe3O4 loaded MoO3 nanorods (NRs) were constructed by facile hydrothermal method. The developed nanohybrid showed superior photocatalytic degradation of cefixime (CFX) (98.0%) and photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) (99.7%) in presence of visible light illumination. The constructed nanohybrid was fully characterized by HR-TEM, Raman, FE-SEM, VSM, FT-IR, XPS, ESR, EIS, PL, UV-vis DRS and N-2 adsorption and desorption analysis to understand its physiochemical characteristics. The nanohybrid showed excellent reusability within six consecutive cycles, and easily separable due to its good magnetic property. The optimization studies were done to understand the efficiency of the photocatalyst under various conditions including pH, temperature and nanohybrid dosages. The toxicity of the photodegraded products was evaluated towards gram negative (E. coli) and gram positive (S. aureus) bacteria. Furthermore, a possible photodegradation pathway was investigated based on GC-MS/MS analysis to better understand the photodegradation process. Also, the fabricated nanohybrid was investigated for its genotoxicity towards Allium cepa. The present research opens a new insight for magnetic MoO3@S-Fe3O4-50% as a photocatalyst for environmental remediation.