Fabrication of cubic In2O3/Bi2WO6 and study of its photocatalytic performance in removal of florfenicol antibiotic from aqueous media: Experimental and molecular dynamic simulation

Abstract In this study, In 2 O 3 , Bi 2 WO 6 , and cubic heterojunction In 2 O 3 /Bi 2 WO 6 were synthesized and characterized by several techniques. Their photocatalytic properties in removal of florfenicol (FLO) antibiotic from aqueous media were evaluated from experimental and theoretical perspectives. The effect of catalyst type, light source type, photocatalyst mass (g), pH, FLO concentration (mg/L), and reaction time (min) was investigated. According to the results, In 2 O 3 /Bi 2 WO 6 with molar ratio of 2:1 had the highest degradation performance. Also, the Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation results revealed that the interaction energy for FLO adsorbed on In 2 O 3 surface is −195.407 kJ/mol and for adsorbed on Bi 2 WO 6 surface is −61.672 kJ/mol. It is also apparent from these interaction energy values that FLO adsorbed on In 2 O 3 surface have more negative E int values and stronger interactions as compared to Bi 2 WO 6 surface. These results are supported by the findings of the values of drug degradation efficiencies experimentally obtained. The results of this study suggest that the photocatalytic process is optimal at conditions 0.05 g In 2 O 3 /Bi 2 WO 6 with molar ratio of 2:1 of catalyst and also the amount of 100 μl H 2 O 2 30% with concentration of 100 (mg/L) FLO at pH = 5, within 15 min under UVC light degradation efficiency is 99.99%.