The visible- light photocatalytic degradation of ibuprofen by the CuS-Fe3O4/RGO catalyst

[Display omitted] •The CuS-Fe3O4/RGO catalyst was fabricated with a hydrothermal method.•The CuS-Fe3O4/RGO catalyst indicated 96 % the removal of IBP under visible-light.•The active species and catalytic mechanism were discussed.•The degradation products of IBP were determined. In this research, the CuS-Fe3O4/RGO catalyst was fabricated for the IBP degradation from aqueous solutions in visible light. The influence of different parameters such as the initial IBP concentration (5–20 mg/L), time (20–120 min), catalyst dosage (0.1–0.4 g/L) and pH (5–9) were considered for the IBP removal by the photocatalytic process. The results of research indicated that in the removal process of IBP by the CuS-Fe3O4/RGO composite in visible light and in the optimum condition (pH: 7, IBP concentration = 10 mg·L−1, time = 60 min and catalyst dosage = 0.3 g/L) the maximum removals of IBP and total organic carbon (TOC) were 96 % and 50 %, respectively. The byproducts of IBP removal were detected, and the degradation mechanism of IBP was suggested and discussed. After four cycles, the nanocomposite efficiency wasn't decreased significantly. Finally, it can be deduced that the CuS-Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposite has high photocatalytic efficiency for the IBP removal from aqueous solutions.