Mechanochemical synthesis of ferrite/MOF nanocomposite: Efficient photocatalyst for the removal of meropenem and hexavalent chromium from water

Photocatalysts have been recognized as a promising solution to environmental water pollution, and research is underway to find suitable photocatalysts to remove various drugs and heavy metals. Herein, we prepared novel nanocomposites of metal–organic framework-808 (MOF-808) and NiFe2O4 with different mass ratios to employ them in the visible-light photocatalytic Meropenem degradation and Cr(VI) reduction. The as-fabricated magnetic NiFe2O4/MOF-808 nanocomposites were characterized by FESEM, DRS, TEM, EDX, XRD, IR, VSM, PL, EIS, and BET. In the following, the NiFe2O4/MOF-808 nanocomposites are compared to illustrate the effect of the bandgap on photocatalytic results. Generally, among different mass ratios of NiFe2O4/MOF-808 nanocomposites, which have a lower bandgap, exhibited a more efficient transfer of photo-excited electrons to the catalytic site and performed the best photocatalytic activity. By changing conditions such as the amount of catalyst, pH, type of scavenger, drug dose, etc., the maximum and best efficiency has been optimized, which results in using a 1:2 ferrite: MOF mass ratio of nanocomposite and under optimal conditions for each contaminant, degradation occurs in 60 min. The outcomes presented the removal efficiency of chromium and meropenem in optimal conditions of pH = 2 and pH = 6, respectively. Also, catalyst recovery tests show that the degradation rate has not decreased even after eight consecutive cycles of using this catalyst.