Phosphorus-modified copper ferrite (P–CuFe2O4) nanoparticles for photocatalytic ozonation of lomefloxacin.

Phosphorus-modified copper ferrite (P–CuFe 2 O 4) nanoparticles were prepared by a simple sol-gel auto-combustion process and used for the photocatalytic ozonation of lomefloxacin (LOM). The morphology, crystallinity, and structure of the synthesized CuFe 2 O 4 and P–CuFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles were investigated using various techniques. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed that the degradation of LOM achieved a 99% reduction after a duration of 90 min in the photocatalytic ozonation system. In accordance with the charge-to-mass ratio, four intermediates were proposed with the help of their fragments obtained in LC–MS/MS. The degradation kinetics of lomefloxacin followed a pseudo-first order reaction, and the degradation mechanism was proposed based on the results. P 0.035 Cu 0.965 Fe 2 O 4 showed the highest total organic carbon (TOC) removal with 20.15% in 90 min, highest specific surface area and the highest fluoride and ammonium production using the ion chromatography (IC). The experimental results obtained from the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis indicated that the modified P–CuFe 2 O 4 samples exhibited significantly elevated levels of superoxide (. O 2 −) production compared to the CuFe 2 O 4 samples. The findings of this study demonstrate that the introduction of phosphorus modification into the copper ferrite photocatalyst led to an augmentation of both the specific surface area and the total pore volume. Furthermore, the incorporation of phosphorus served to promote the efficient separation of electron-hole pairs by effectively trapping electrons in the conduction band, hence enhancing the degradation efficiency. [Display omitted] • Phosphorus Modified Copper Ferrite (P–CuFe 2 O 4) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using a sol-gel auto-combustion method. • Phosphorus modification showed interesting improvements over parent materials. • Photocatalytic ozonation exhibited higher efficiency than the photolysis process for the degradation of lomefloxacin. • Ions F− and NH 4 + were found and gradually built up during the reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]