Use of Multifunctional Nanoclay@VS 2 Nanoflowers in the Adsorption and Photocatalytic-Based Removal of Drug Molecules and Azo Dyes

The scarcity of clean water resources has become a critical global environmental issue due to rapid population growth and unplanned industrialization, which have significantly disrupted natural purification processes. Moreover, the increasing coexistence of persistent organic dyes and pharmaceutical pollutants in wastewater, which are resistant to conventional treatment methods, poses a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health. This situation highlights the urgent need for the development of efficient, sustainable, and multifunctional treatment strategies capable of addressing diverse classes of contaminants simultaneously. The main objective of this study is to develop a multifunctional nanocomposite material capable of integrating adsorption and photocatalytic processes for the effective removal of both dye and pharmaceutical pollutants. In this context, the removal of methylene blue (MB), a widely encountered industrial dye, and escitalopram (ESC), a pharmaceutical contaminant, was investigated using multifunctional Nanoclay@VS2 nanoflowers. The synthesized Nanoclay@VS2 nanocomposite, which combines the high adsorption capacity of nanoclay with the photocatalytic activity of VS2 nanoparticles, was evaluated as a dual-functional treatment material. The results demonstrated that the optimum conditions for the adsorption of MB were pH 6.0, 15 mg of adsorbent dosage, and 10 min of contact time, achieving removal efficiencies in the range of 93–99%. Photocatalytic degradation of MB under UV irradiation exceeded 95% within 270–480 min, with optimum conditions of pH 4.0 and 200 mg photocatalyst. Reusability studies confirmed that the material maintained its performance for at least three cycles. For ESC removal, adsorption experiments achieved an efficiency of 87% under similar conditions (pH 6.0, 15 mg), while photocatalytic degradation under UV light reached 96% within 330 min at pH 2.0 using 100 mg of photocatalyst. Overall, these findings demonstrate that Nanoclay@VS2 nanoflowers exhibit significant potential as efficient, sustainable, and multifunctional materials for the removal of structurally different organic pollutants from wastewater.