Photo-Fenton Degradation of Ciprofloxacin by Novel Graphene Quantum Dots/alpha-FeOOH Nanocomposites for the Production of Safe Drinking Water from Surface Water

In the current work, novel graphene quantum dots (GQDs)-doped goethite (alpha-FeOOH) nanocomposites (GQDs/alpha-FeOOH) were prepared by following a feasible hydrolysis method and applied for ciprofloxacin (CIP) removal. Results showed that the CIP degradation efficiency was significant (93.73%, 0.0566 min(-1)) in the GQDs/alpha-FeOOH + H2O2 + Vis system using much lower amounts of H2O2 (0.50 mM), which is 3.9 times the alpha-FeOOH + H2O2 + Vis system. It was found that center dot OH, O-2(center dot-), and O-1(2) were mainly responsible for CIP degradation in the GQDs/alpha-FeOOH photo-Fenton system. GQDs/alpha-FeOOH demonstrated broad-spectrum UV-vis-IR responsiveness in the degradation of ciprofloxacin as a function of the doping of GQDs. Additionally, GQDs/alpha-FeOOH showed outstanding durability (recyclability up to 3 cycles with a lower iron leaking amount, 0.020 mg L-1), a broad range of application pH, and a pretty acceptable catalytic efficacy in a variety of surface water matrices. Overall, GQDs/alpha-FeOOH have been shown to be an effective photocatalyst for the remediation of emerging contaminants via the workable exploitation of solar energy.