Visible light-induced degradation of amoxicillin antibiotic by novel CuI/FePO4 p-n heterojunction photocatalyst and photodegradation mechanism

Antibiotic pollutant as a toxic wastewater is a critical global issue for human and ecosystems. In this work, we introduce a high-performance CuI/FePO4 heterojunction nanocomposite for the elimination of amoxicillin antibiotic under simulated sunlight radiation. The hybrid CuI/FePO4 nanoparticles exhibited an energy gap of 3.03 eV and photodegradation efficiency of 90%, which were better than those of CuI and FePO4 nanostructures. The prominent photocatalytic removal activity of the CuI/FePO4 heterostructures depends on the ultrafine particles, elevated visible-light absorption, and impressive separation and negligible recombination rate of electron-hole pairs due to the generation of p-n heterojunctions. We also presented a photocatalytic degradation pathway utilizing radical quenching analysis, which is based on fundamental function of the •OH and •O2− radicals in the photocatalytic elimination of amoxicillin by CuI/FePO4 nanocomposite. These functional properties of the CuI/FePO4 can be beneficial for the development of future photocatalyst materials.