Analysis of degradation pathways and intermediates products for ciprofloxacin using a highly porous photocatalyst.

[Display omitted] • FeWO 4 /NC based nanocomposites were fabricated by hydrothermal process. • The FeWO 4 /NC nanocomposite showed the high porosity and excellent photocatalytic activity. • The degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIF) under visible light. • The scavenger trapping as well as EPR experiments show the role of active species. In this study, we fabricate a highly optical active photocatalytic FeWO 4 /NC by hydrothermal process and characterized. The fabricated photocatalyst was used for the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIF) under visual light. The initial concentration, contact time and the pH of the solution variate the degradation of CIP in aqueous solution. The scavenger effect was carried out to determine the hole, radicals and the photogenerated species used for the degradation. The FeWO 4 /NC-800showed excellent photodegradation of CIP because of its larger surface area and porous structure. Around 92.23% of the degradation of these pharmaceuticals was achieved within 100 min. The kinetic results support the degradation was carried out via first order kinetics and the rate constant was found to be 0.0240 min−1. The FeWO 4 /NC-800 nanocomposite would be a good candidate for CIP degradation by photocatalysis in contaminated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]