Photocatalytic degradation activity and pathways of moxifloxacin over metal ion-doped Bi2O3 nanofibres prepared via electrospinning

Abstract Photocatalytic degradation technology is a potential way to remove organic pollutants from water. In this study, Bi2O3 nanofibres doped with different metal ions (Co2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+) were fabricated successfully using the electrospinning method for use as photocatalysts. Compared to pure Bi2O3 nanofibres, the energy band gap and the recombination rate of photogenerated carriers were reduced in Co2+-doped Bi2O3 nanofibers, which significantly improved the photocatalytic performance of the Bi2O3 nanofibres. Typically, the moxifloxacin degradation rate was 98.2% after 70 min irradiation over Co2+-doped Bi2O3. Although h+, ∙O2-, and ∙OH were detected in the photocatalytic process, the dominant active species was h+. In addition, three degradation pathways containing 12 intermediates were proposed.