Abstract
A visible light-mediated degradation of metronidazole (MNZ) was performed via Electro-photo-Fenton (EPF) with \({\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}\)/reduced graphene oxide (5 wt%)/\({\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}\) (4 wt%) photocatalysts deposited onto graphite cathodes. The synthesized photocatalyst was immobilized by the dip-coating method. The central composite design was used to examine the effect of current density, irradiation time, pH, contaminant concentration, and catalyst concentration. The optimal conditions for MNZ degradation were obtained at a concentration of 25 \({\mathrm{mg L}}^{-1}\) via EPF method with a reaction time of 100 mins, pH of 4.6, and current density of 2.5 \({\mathrm{mA cm}}^{-2}\). The amount of catalyst used under such conditions was 0.2 \({\mathrm{mg L}}^{-1}\). The results of the characterization analysis based on Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction, Ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy, Field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller confirmed that the photocatalyst was synthesized and deposited on graphite cathode uniformly. Experimental data revealed that the removal of MNZ by suspended photocatalysts, Electro-Fenton, and Electro-photo-Fenton yielded 56.9%, 61.4%, and 82%, respectively. In this study, a combined EPF with suspended photocatalyst yielded a 90.8% removal efficiency of MNZ. With a modified cathode in the EPF process, the removal efficiency and mineralization were achieved within 100 mins as 96.7% and 88.5%, respectively. There was adequate stability after repeating the experiment five times with the same modified cathode at the optimum point in the integrated experiments.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Amin Pharmaceutical Company (Iran) for providing metronidazole. The authors also very much appreciate the support of the Environmental Research Institute and Central Laboratory of University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
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Rabiei, M., Farhadian, M., Solaimany Nazar, A.R. et al. Integrated Electro-photo-Fenton process and visible light-driven TiO2/rGO/Fe2O3 photocatalyst based on graphite cathode in the presence of iron anode for Metronidazole degradation. J Appl Electrochem 53, 65–83 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-022-01760-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-022-01760-4