Synthesis of tin ferrite-dopped zeolitic imidazolate framework and its application in the photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and ampicillin in water

Incomplete removal of antibiotics such as sulfamethoxazole (SMX), ciprofloxacin (CIP), ampicillin (AMP) and erythromycin (ERY) from water is a global challenge. Therefore, tin ferrite incorporated in zeolitic imidazolate framework (SnFe2O4@monoZIF-8) was synthesized as a photocatalyst for complete water photodegradation of SMX, ERY, CIP and AMP. Characterization of SnFe2O4@monoZIF-8 revealed a surface area of 1506.94 m2 g−1 and a direct bandgap of 2.05 eV. SnFe2O4@ZIF-8 exhibited outstanding degradation efficiency with complete removal of SMX, CIP, AMP and 91.00 ± 0.20% of ERY. The regeneration capacity of SnFe2O4@monoZIF-8 is higher than 90%, which reveals it as a promising photocatalyst for water treatment.