Engineering a novel BiVO4-CuFe2O4@MXene heterojunction with boosted photocatalytic activity: Visible-light-driven enrofloxacin degradation from polluted water and H2 production

Innovative solutions are needed to address renewable energy demands and mitigate environmental pollution. Although photocatalysis effectively degrades pollutants and generates hydrogen, limitations in charge separation, redox efficiency, and catalyst stability continue to impede progress. Herein, a novel BiVO₄-CuFe₂O₄@MXene (BVCFMX) composite was synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process. The optimized BVCFMX-30 photocatalyst achieves rapid and efficient Enrofloxacin (ENR) degradation (96.03 %) and exhibits a high hydrogen evolution rate (3.15 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹), surpassing single-component and binary systems, primarily due to MXene-enabled superior charge separation, enhanced visible-light absorption, and robust redox capability. Beyond ENR, it effectively degrades various antibiotics, including OFX (92.62 %), SMZ (89.55 %), CPX (85.6 %), and CIP (80.3 %), and maintains strong performance across different water sources, attesting to its versatility and applicability in real-world conditions. Mechanistic investigations, supported by radical scavenging and EPR analysis, highlight the critical roles of O₂⁻·, ·OH, and h⁺ radicals. Comprehensive LC-MS characterization elucidates multi-step degradation pathways and confirms that intermediate products are less toxic, as evidenced by reduced bioaccumulation factors and developmental toxicity indices. 83.02 % TOC removal and sustained efficiency of over 80 % after five cycles indicate substantial mineralization, stability, and long-term durability of the synthesized photocatalyst.