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Herein, we report an Ag 2 O x (3 wt%)-loaded ZnFe 2 O 4 photocatalysts synthesized by co-precipitation and incipient wet impregnation approach for acetamiprid degradation, antibacterial, antioxidant, and toxicity assay. Initially, bare ZnFe 2 O 4 nanostructures were made through a simple co-precipitation method. In the second step, 3 wt% of various transition metal oxides (CuO x , ZrO x , and Ag 2 O x ) were embedded on the surface of ZnFe 2 O 4 photocatalysts via a wet impregnation method. Further, the prepared photocatalysts were systematically characterized using XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM, BET, HRTEM, and XPS analysis. The optimum Ag 2 O x (3 wt%)-loaded ZnFe 2 O 4 photocatalysts revealed higher degradation efficiencies for acetamiprid under sunlight irradiation. Additionally, the Ag 2 O x (3 wt%)-loaded ZnFe 2 O 4 photocatalysts showed more effective antioxidant and antibacterial activity than blank and bare ZnFe 2 O 4 nanomaterials. The enriched catalytic efficiency can be accredited to the 3 wt% of Ag 2 O x NPs loaded on ZnFe 2 O 4 nanomaterials, possibly due to the boosted transport properties of the electron-hole pairs. This study will provide a new avenue for the development of simple and effective photocatalysts for efficiently saving polluted aquatic ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Water pollution is a serious problem that threatens both developed and developing countries. Several methods have been used to purify contaminated water, among which the photocatalytic decomposition approach is widely used to purify contaminated water from organic pollutants. In this work, biomass derived SiO 2 nanoparticles composite with TiO 2 semiconductors used as an efficient photocatalyst for degradation of RhB dye molecules under UV-visible light irradiation is proclaimed. The different weight percentages of Arundo donax L. ash-derived SiO 2 nanoparticles combined with TiO 2 nanoparticles were prepared through the wet impregnation method. The photocatalytic degradation ability of the as-prepared samples has been scrutinized against the degradation of Rh B dye in which the pronounced photocatalytic degradation efficiency 93.7% is successfully achieved on 50 wt % SiO 2 -50 wt % TiO 2 nanocomposite photocatalyst. The catalytic performance of the nanocomposite decreases with an increase of 50%-75% in SiO 2 nanoparticles. There could have been a decrease in degradation efficiency due to an excess amount of SiO 2 covering TiO 2 nanoparticles, which prevented photons from reaching the nanoparticles. The efficiency of cyclic decomposition of the 50 wt% SiO 2 -50 wt% TiO 2 composite showed only a slight change in photocatalytic capacity compared to the first cycle, which ensures the durability of the sample. However, the hydroxyl radical species play the main role in the degradation process, which has been confirmed by the scavenger test. The probable reaction mechanism is also deliberated in detail. The high photocatalytic performance of novel eco-friendly SiO 2 -TiO 2 photocatalyst make it ideal for water purification applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this work, iron (oxyhydr)oxide nanoparticle-doped expanded graphite (IO/EG-1 and IO/EG-2) was prepared via a hydrothermal reaction and applied for the phosphorus adsorption in the aqueous solutions. The analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) verified the successful fabrication of IO/EGs, and iron (oxyhydr)oxide nanoparticles became more crystalized according to the calcination at high temperature (IO/EG-2). The maximum adsorption capacity of IO/EG-1 was considerably higher (7.30 mg/g) than that of IO/EG-2 (0.70 mg/g) mainly due to the electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged phosphate ions with iron (oxyhydr)oxides. At the neutral pH, IO/EG-1 exhibited more positively charged than IO/EG-2, which the iso-electric points (IEP) were pH of 9.1 and 6.0, respectively. The thermodynamic study also suggested that the phosphorus adsorption energy of IO/EG-1was considerably favorable (-12.13 kJ/mol) than that of IO/EG-2 (-7.43 kJ/mol). The regeneration of IO/EG-1 were efficiently achieved by a simple extraction using an alkaline solution such as NaOH. Overall, our study suggested that the prepared IO/EGs could be used as good adsorbents for the phosphorus recovery from aqueous solutions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts to declare., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)