Silver Nps assembled lithium niobate Ag@LiNbO3 photocatalysts for visible light-assisted pharmaceutical degradation.

[Display omitted] • Ferroelectric LiNbO3 and Plasmonic Ag@LiNbO3 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized and fully characterized. • The photocatalysis pharmaceutical degradation ability of Ag@LiNbO3 was investigated using sulfadiazine as a pollutant target. • The Ag@LiNbO3 catalyst exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability. • photodegradation mechanism of Sulfadiazine as pharmaceutical pollutant during the photocatalytic process was proposed. Semiconductors are highly sought after as photocatalysts owing to their High-performance ability to decompose organic pollutants. In this current work, LiNbO 3 assembled silver nanoparticles were synthesized using the hydrothermal technique, in order to combine the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect and spontaneous polarisation of Lithium niobate to improve the photocatalytic activity. The prepared catalysts were examined by diverse analytical methods such as X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with EDS analysis spectroscopy, TEM microscope, Raman spectroscopy, The ferroelectric P-E loop, and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS). X-ray diffraction patterns reflected the successful preparation of pure LiNbO 3 using the hydrothermally synthesized method and the formation of silver-loaded LiNbO 3. The scanning electron microscopy and EDS analysis demonstrated the loaded Ag nanoparticles' distribution and the silver presence in the LiNbO 3 powder. The photocatalytic degradation performance of the Ag-assembled LiNbO 3 nanocomposite was evaluated under Visible light irradiation by following the photodegradation of sulfadiazine (pharmaceutical pollutant). The photocatalytic performance of the Ag-loaded LiNbO 3 was better than that of pristine LiNbO 3 with a ∼89.4 % removal of SDZ over 60 min of visible irradiation and displays good reusability and stability even after the four regenerated cycles. It has been indicated that the Ag nanoparticles improve photocatalytic activity. Based on the optical properties of Ag@LiNbO 3 nanocomposite, a possible mechanism for sulfadiazine degradation is proposed. The Our findings demonstrate that the synthesized Ag@LiNbO 3 will be appropriate for pollutant remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]