SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF ANTIBIOTICS IN WATER USING ZnO-Fe3O4-CHITOSAN COMPOSITE

Abstract

The article has studied the three-component composite material ZnO, Fe₃O₄, and chitosan (CMZ). The results showed that composite materials with chitosan concentrations ranging from 5 to 20% were successfully synthesized. CMZ had a smaller crystalline size than the composite material without chitosan. The magnetism of CMZ was quite good. The magnetic saturation of the material decreased as the chitosan content increased. CMZ had a porous surface, existing as clumps with a surface area of 59.2 m²/g. The band gap energy had a value of 2.83 eV, smaller than that of individual ZnO. CMZ material with a chitosan concentration of 5% was able to decompose the antibiotics moxifloxacin and levofloxacin from water under light, with efficiencies of 89.0% and 84.5%, respectively, after 180 minutes of illumination. The antibiotic decomposition process followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood first-order kinetic model, with moxifloxacin decomposing faster than levofloxacin. The mechanism of photocatalytic decomposition was also discussed in this study.