Influence of fuel type and microwave combustion on in-situ fabrication of BimOnBrz mixed-phase nanostructured photocatalyst: Effective sun-light photo-response ability in tetracycline degradation

[Display omitted] •Fabrication of BimOnBrz mixed-phase via microwave-meditated combustion design.•Promotion influence of fuel type on catalytic properties and performance.•Upgrade influence of microwave vs. muffle on catalytic properties and performance.•Verification of positive role of glycerol and microwave irradiation on degradation.•Higher sun-light photo-response and the effective separation of charge carriers. In this research, BimOnBrz nanophotocatalysts were fabricated using various fuels such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and glycerol to investigate the effect of fuel types on the photocatalytic activity and structure. Moreover, the influence of conventional and microwave combustion was investigated. Results of XRD, EDX, BET-BJH, FESEM, TEM and DRS techniques illustrated that the simultaneous use of the glycerol and microwave irradiation was leaded to the synthesis of BimOnBrz nanophotocatalyst with unique characteristics; which consists of 26 % BiOBr and 74 % Bi24O31Br10. The photocatalytic performance of this sample was investigated in the photo-decomposition of the tetracycline antibiotic under a light source that was simulated as the solar light. The results of reactor test showed the highest photo-degradation efficiency (98.9 %) of tetracycline over this nanophotocatalyst. In addition, in order to appraise the effects of operational variables on the photocatalytic process efficiency the tetracycline concentration, initial pH of polluted solution and dosage of photocatalyst were changed. Moreover, the re-used of the optimum photocatalyst was evaluated. Finally, a mechanism for the photocatalytic decomposition of the antibiotic was suggested.