Ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of magnetic recyclable Fe3O4/rice husk biochar based photocatalysts for ciprofloxacin photodegradation in aqueous solution

Abstract

In this work, a new facile one-spot method has been designed to fabricate a magnetic recyclable Fe₃O₄/rice husk biochar photocatalyst (FBP) for the removal of Ciprofloxacin (CIP) in aqueous solution. This method combines ultrasonic-assisted impregnation and precipitation, which can overcome the difficulties of long-time reactions, complex procedures, and extreme condition requirements. The successful fabrication of the Fe₃O₄/biochar material has been proven by a series of material characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Raman, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Moreover, the as-product FBP exhibited the excellent ability of photodegrading CIP and the possibility of magnetic recovery from the aqueous solution, suggesting a potential solution for removing antibiotic pollutants in environmental remediation.