Application of non-hierarchical gadolinium ortho-ferrite nanostructure for LED-driven photocatalytic mineralization of doxycycline hydrochloride

The present work demonstrates the glycol-assisted sol–gel process to yield gadolinium ortho-ferrite (GdFeO 3 ) nanoparticles. The as-synthesized GdFeO 3 was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and UV − Visible absorption spectroscopy. The visible-light-responsive photocatalytic activity of GdFeO 3 nanoparticles was evaluated by the photodegradation of doxycycline hydrochloride (DOX) under LED irradiation. According to systematic investigations, the optimum degradation of DOX (20 mg L −1 ) was observed to be 84% in 120 min under LED (20 W, 220 V) irradiation in the presence of 10 mg of GdFeO 3 dosage. The results of catalyst stability proved that GdFeO 3 could retain its efficiency for three consecutive cycles. The DOX degradation was chiefly because of photo-generated holes (h + ) and partly by hydroxyl radical ( . OH). The mass spectroscopy results were suggestive of catalytic breakdown of DOX during the typical photocatalytic investigation. Finally, the performance of GdFeO 3 nanoparticles in DOX mineralization shows its potential ability for application in water/wastewater treatment, specifically the treatment of antibiotic-rich wastewater.