Efficient catalytic activity of BiOBr@polyaniline-MnO2ternary nanocomposites for sunlight-driven photodegradation of ciprofloxacin

Abstract The development of effective sunlight-driven photocatalytic system for the removal of antibiotics has attracted great attentions in environmental remediation. In the present case, the BiOBr@polyaniline-MnO2 (BOB/Mn-PANI) nanocomposites loaded with different Mn-PANI contents as efficient photocatalysts have been prepared successfully via the hydrothermal method. The introduction of Mn-PANI has a significant influence on the photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared samples. The BOB/0.50Mn-PANI composite with 0.50 wt% Mn-PANI exhibits the best photocatalysis for the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) under simulated sunlight irradiation. The photodegradation kinetics and mechanisms of the as-prepared nanocomposites were investigated in detail to explain the influence of PANI and MnO2 loadings on the removal efficiency of CIP. The fluorescence spectra and photoelectrochemical experiments indicated that the highly enhanced photocatalytic efficiency can be ascribed to the efficient photo-generated electron-hole separation and transmission. The radical trapping experiments suggested that ·O2− and h+ are the main reactive species for the photodegradation of CIP. This work provides an effective way to design novel photocatalysts with efficient performance under simulated sunlight.