Abstract

Growing concerns over the environmental impact of residual antibiotics have attracted significant attention in recent years. In this study, W<inf>0.5</inf>Ag<inf>0.5</inf>FeO<inf>3</inf> nanoparticles (NPs) were employed to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the enhanced degradation of tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. The synthesized NPs were thoroughly examined for their crystal structure, functional groups, elemental composition, particle shape using XRD, FTIR, XPS, SEM, and TEM. The findings of the experiments showed that the NPs/Light/PMS system was able to produce a much larger elimination of TC when compared to the sum of the individual NPs/Light and PMS-only processes. This highlights the strong synergistic effect that exists between photocatalysis and PMS activation. Additionally, the influence of inorganic anions on the removal of TC was investigated, and the system demonstrated a high degree of pH adaptation and sensitivity to these anions. The system's operational stability was demonstrated by its ability to maintain degradation efficiency after four cycles. When the concentration of TC was increased, however, the efficiency of the degradation process decreased. Several reactive species, such as ^•O<inf>2</inf>⁻, h⁺, ¹O<inf>2</inf>, SO<inf>4</inf>^•-, and ^•OH, were implicated in the degradation mechanism. These reactive species together led to the breakdown of TC structure. The photocatalytic process is integrated into the overall system, offering an effective and eco-friendly strategy for the degradation of antibiotics in wastewater treatment.