Enhanced photocatalytic activity of nickel oxide supported on clinoptilolite nanoparticles for the photodegradation of aqueous cephalexin

NiO was incorporated into nano particles of clinoptilolite via ion exchange and calcination processes and characterized by XRD, FT-IR, DRS, BET, SEM, and TEM. The prepared catalyst was used in the photocatalytic degradation of cephalexin (CEX) using Hg-lamp irradiation and the best experimental parameters were obtained as: 0.2 g L−1 of the catalyst, 50 times diluted of the initial cephalexin solution at pH 4.5 and irradiation time of 300 min. At these optimum conditions about 76% of CEX molecules can be degraded. The degradation extent was monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy and the results were confirmed by HPLC and the chemical oxygen demand (COD). The degradation efficiencies of 73.5% and 89% were respectively obtained by COD and HPLC results after the photodegradation of the proposed system at optimal conditions.