Rapid removal of phenol/antibiotics in water by Fe-(8-hydroxyquinoline-7-carboxylic)/TiO2 flower composite: Adsorption combined with photocatalysis

An Fe-HQLC/TiO 2 (HQLC: 8-hydroxyquinoline-7-carboxylic) flower composite was synthesized and characterized. Phenol and four antibiotics: ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, amoxicillin and erythromycin can be efficiently and rapidly degraded by the Fe-HQLC/TiO 2 flower under visible light. The results indicated that more than 95% of the four antibiotics could be removed within 15 min. The photodegradation products of the four antibiotics were studied by high-performance liquid chromatography and high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. It was found that the adsorption characteristics of the antibiotics and their degradation products had a great influence on the photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst and on the degradation rate of the antibiotics in recycling. Although the Fe-HQLC/TiO 2 flower did not degrade the four antibiotics completely, the parent structure of the antibiotics was destroyed to some extent. Therefore, the environmental toxicity and cytotoxicity of the antibiotics were significantly decreased. Compared with other related research works, there are a few photocatalysts capable of efficient and rapid removal of antibiotics.