High-efficient photocatalytic degradation of tamoxifen and doxorubicin by novel ternary heterogeneous GO@Fe3O4@CeO2 photocatalyst

Abstract

Abstract Pharmaceuticals are a new class of water contaminants that need to be effectively removed. This study combines GO@Fe3O4 with CeO2 nanoparticles via a simple procedure known as heterogeneous visible-light-driven photocatalyst. The photocatalytic potential of the GO@Fe3O4@CeO2 was examined via photodegradation of tamoxifen (TMX) and doxorubicin (DOX) under visible-light excitation. The crystallinity and morphology of the synthesized photocatalyst was characterized utilizing SEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR, VSM, and UV–vis. The UV–Vis analyses provided the bandgap value of 3.17 eV for GO@Fe3O4@CeO2. Then, the influence of some key factors such as pH (3–10), photocatalyst dose (0.006-0.04 g), and time (0-120) were studied. The findings indicated that TMX and DOX degradation via GO@Fe3O4@CeO2 photocatalyst could achieve 97% within 60 min and 98% within 90 min, respectively.