The release of fluoroquinolone antibiotics into aquatic ecosystems presents significant environmental hazards attributable to their toxic and persistent characteristics. This research investigates the improvement of photocatalytic properties of Mg/Al-layered double hydroxide (Mg/Al-LDH) through the incorporation of red dragon fruit peel extract (RDF), referred to as Mg/Al-RDF, to enhance its effectiveness in ciprofloxacin (CPX) degradation. Mg/Al-RDF has been successfully prepared using the co-precipitation method and characterized with FE-SEM-EDS, XRD, FTIR, BET, and UV-Vis DRS. The composite exhibits a remarkable efficiency in CPX degradation under visible light irradiation. Heterogeneous test indicated that leaching of active components of the Mg/Al-RDF into the solution does not play a significant role in CPX degradation. The outcome showed that Mg/Al-RDF demonstrated remarkable photocatalytic activity under optimal conditions (pH=5, irradiation time=30 min (dark), 90 min (visible light), catalyst dosages= 2.5 g/L, CPX initial concentration= 30 mg/L, regeneration cycle= 5x) with 91.96% (27.45 mg/L) and a rate constant of 0.028 min −1 . Experiments involving radical scavengers demonstrated that superoxide radicals play a critical part in the photocatalytic process, as evidenced by notable reductions in activity upon scavenging these radicals. These findings underscore the significant benefits of Mg/Al-RDF in the degradation of persistent fluoroquinolone antibiotic contaminants under visible light irradiation. • Red dragon fruit peel extract boosts Mg/Al-LDH’s effectiveness in CPX degradation. • Heterogeneous test confirms Mg/Al-RDF truly heterogeneous catalyst. • Mg/Al-RDF exhibits a rate constant of about 0.028 min −1 . • Mechanistic degradation revealed that •O 2 - serves as the primary reactive species. • Mg/Al-RDF demonstrated remarkable photocatalytic activity with 91.96% (27.45 mg/L).
Lesbani et al. (Thu,) studied this question.