High efficient catalytic degradation of tetracycline and ibuprofen using visible light driven novel Cu/Bi2Ti2O7/rGO nanocomposite: Kinetics, intermediates and mechanism

[Display omitted] •The enhanced trapping of photoexcited charge carriers were successfully obtained by constructing a novel Cu/Bi2Ti2O7/rGO nanocomposite.•The trapping of electrons were confirmed by the observed suppression of e−-h+ pair recombination by Photoluminescence analysis.•The photoexcited charge transfer and trapping mechanism in ternary photocatalyst was discussed in detail.•The degradation pathways of tetracycline and ibuprofen were proposed by identifying the degradation intermediates using LC–TOF/MS analysis.•The obtained ternary nanocomposite showed were ∼8.7 times enhanced photocatalytic degradation ability comparing to P25-TiO2. The photoexcited charge carriers trapping was an effective way to generate a large number of active species like O2•− and OH radicals to oxidize pharmaceutical molecules. In ternary Cu/Bi2Ti2O7/rGO composite Cu nanoparticles and rGO sheets act as charge carrier trappers and the suppression of e−-h+ pair recombination was confirmed by Photoluminescence analysis. The Cu/Bi2Ti2O7/rGO composite exhibited higher photocatalytic degradation efficiency for degradation of ibuprofen and tetracycline molecules under visible light irradiation within 90min. Therefore, this research designates a promising strategy for higher photoexcited charge carrier trapping photocatalyst design for efficient degradation of pharmaceutical molecules.