Ultrasound Assisted Synthesis of Fe Doped TiO2 Nanoparticles for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin

The present study focused on the photo catalytic degradation of Ciprofloxacin (CP) using ultrasonically synthesized TiO₂ and Fe-doped TiO₂ (1 wt%) nanoparticles under sunlight. The synthesized nanoparticles were extensively characterized using XRD, FTIR, FESEM and EDS techniques. XRD analysis revealed that Fe⁺³ ions were successfully incorporated into TiO₂, and both TiO₂ and Fe-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles contained only anatase phase. The average crystallite size of synthesized nanoparticles was estimated to be in the range of 4-6 nm. The EDS analysis has confirmed the existence of Fe in the sample of Fe-doped TiO₂. The CP degradation study was performed and compared using synthesized nanoparticles. The optimized value of the degradation was investigated by varying experimental parameters, namely, irradiation time, catalyst dosage, initial CP concentration, and pH. Fe-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles outperformed compared to pure TiO₂ nanoparticles for CP degradation. The maximum CP degradation was achieved around 87% at a catalyst dosage of 30 mg, initial CP concentration of 10 ppm, pH of 5, and irradiation time of 150 minutes.