Abstract
Heavy metals and organic pollutants in a complex composition are of serious environmental and socioeconomic threat which requires an effective remediation technology to address this issue. Herein, we have fabricated a N/S doped iron oxide (Fe3O4) decorated on oxygen vacancy enriched WO3 nanorods via facile hydrothermal method for a promising visible light driven photocatalytic degradation of doxycycline (DOXY) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) reduction. The fabricated photocatalyst were investigated for its physio-chemical, morphological, structural and optical features using several analytical methods including XRD, XPS, SEM, HR-TEM, BET, PL, EIS, DRS and ESR analysis. As expected, the designed nanohybrid exhibited an extraordinary photocatalytic efficiency towards DOXY (0.0210 min−1) and Cr(VI) reduction (0.0219 min−1). The excellent reusability and magnetic property were proved by the six-cycle test and VSM analysis, respectively. The toxicity of the degraded end products were assessed towards the bacterial species. The non-toxic nature of the prepared photocatalysts was investigated by the genotoxicity test against Allium cepa. The oxygen vacancy enrichment and N/S dopant co-modulation contributed to excellent photocatalytic performance of photocatalyst. Here, the prepared photocatalyst was eco-friendly with superior photocatalytic property for large scale application to treat pharmaceutical pollutants present in the water bodies.
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•WO3@N/S–Fe3O4 nanohybrid fabricated via facile hydrothermal method.•Exhibited superior photodegradation of DOXY (99.8%) and photoreduction of Cr (VI) (98.7%).•The particles exhibited excellent reusability and magnetic property.•Genotoxicity of nanohybrid was performed towards A. cepa.