Photocatalytic activity of ZrO(2)/TiO(2)/Fe(3)O(4) ternary nanocomposite for the degradation of naproxen: characterization and optimization using response surface methodology

In this study, ZrO(2), TiO(2), and Fe(3)O(4) components were synthesized by co-precipitation, sol–gel, and co-precipitation methods, respectively. In addition, solid-state dispersion method was used for synthesizing of ZrO(2)/TiO(2)/Fe(3)O(4) ternary nanocomposite. The ZrO(2)/TiO(2)/Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposite was characterized by different techniques including XRD, EDX, SEM, BET, FTIR, XPS, EELS, and Photoluminescence (PL). The FTIR analysis of ZrO(2)/TiO(2)/Fe(3)O(4) photocatalyst showed strong peaks in the range of 450 to 700 cm(−1), which represent stretching vibrations of Zr–O, Ti–O, and Fe–O. The results of FTIR and XRD, XPS analyses and PL spectra confirmed that the solid-state dispersion method produced ZrO(2)/TiO(2)/Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposites. The EELS analysis confirmed the pure samples of Fe(3)O(4), TiO(2) and ZrO(2). The EDAX analysis showed that the Zr:Ti:Fe atomic ratio was 0.42:2.08:1.00. The specific surface area, pores volume and average pores size of the photocatalyst were obtained 280 m(2)/g, 0.92 cm(3)/g, and 42 nm respectively. Furthermore, the performance of ZrO(2)/TiO(2)/Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposite was evaluated for naproxen removal using the response surface method (RSM). The four parameters such as NPX concentration, time, pH and catalyst concentration was investigated. The point of zero charge of the photocatalyst was 6. The maximum and minimum degradation of naproxen using photocatalyst were 100% (under conditions: NPX concentration = 10 mg/L, time = 90 min, pH = 3 and catalyst concentration = 0.5 g/L) and 66.10% respectively. The stability experiment revealed that the ternary nanocatalyst demonstrates a relatively higher photocatalytic activity after 7 recycles.