Zirconium ferrite incorporated zeolitic imidazolate framework-8: a suitable photocatalyst for degradation of dopamine and sulfamethoxazole in aqueous solution

The complete removal of pharmaceutical wastes from polluted water systems is a global challenge. Therefore, this study incorporates zirconium ferrite (ZrFe 2 O 4 ) into zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) to form ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8. The ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8 is a photocatalyst for removing dopamine (DOP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from an aqueous solution. The scanning electron micrograph revealed the surfaces of ZrFe 2 O 4 and ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8 to be heterogeneous with irregularly shaped and sized particles. The transmission electron micrograph (TEM) images of ZrFe 2 O 4 and ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8 showed an average particle size of 24.32 nm and 32.41 nm, respectively, with a bandgap of 2.10 eV (ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8) and 2.05 eV (ZrFe 2 O 4 ). ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8 exhibited a better degradation capacity towards DOP and SMX than ZrFe 2 O 4 . ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8 expressed a complete (100%) degradation of DOP and SMX during the photodegradation process. Interestingly, the process involved both adsorption and photocatalytic degradation simultaneously. ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8 demonstrated high stability with a consistent regeneration capacity of 98.40% for DOP and 94.00% for SMX at the 10 th cycle of treatment in a process described by pseudo-first-order kinetics. The study revealed ZrFe 2 O 4 @ZIF-8 as a promising photocatalyst for the purification of DOP and SMX-contaminated water systems. The complete removal of pharmaceutical wastes from polluted water systems is a global challenge.