Microwave-Assisted Degradation of Paracetamol Drug Using Polythiophene-Sensitized Ag–Ag(2)O Heterogeneous Photocatalyst Derived from Plant Extract

[Image: see text] Ag–Ag(2)O nanoparticles were synthesized using Osmium sanctum plant extract. The nanoparticles were sensitized with polythiophene (PTh) and were characterized via scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray and elemental mapping, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared, and UV–vis spectroscopy analyses. The elemental mapping results revealed that the samples were composed of C, S, Ag, and O elements which were uniformly distributed in the nanohybrid. XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of Ag–Ag(2)O nanoparticles, and the average particle size was found to be ranging between 36 and 40 nm. The optical band gap of Ag–Ag(2)O, PTh, and Ag–Ag(2)O/PTh was found to be 2.49, 1.1, 1.5, and 0.68 eV. The catalytic activity of Ag–Ag(2)O, PTh, and Ag–Ag(2)O/PTh was investigated by degrading paracetamol drug under microwave irradiation. Around 80% of degradation was achieved during 20 min irradiation. All degradation kinetics were fitted to the pseudo-first-order model. A probable degradation pathway for paracetamol degradation was proposed based on liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis of degraded fragments.