Degradation of phenol and norfloxacin under UV light: a study of Nd/Sm-doped and co-doped TiO2 nanofibers

Ceramics Internatonal

2025-08

TiO2 nanofibers

Electrospinning

Photocatalysis

Phenol

Norfloxacin

Ceramic nanofibers (NFs) of TiO2 doped with neodymium (Nd3+) and samarium (Sm3+) ions were obtained by electrospinning to evaluate their effectiveness as photocatalysts in degrading phenol and antibiotic norfloxacin organic pollutants. The influence of doping and co-doping with rare earth elements was investigated. XRD and Raman results confirmed the presence of the tetragonal anatase phase of TiO2 and Rietveld refinement indicated changes in the crystalline parameters due to the doping elements incorporated into the TiO2 crystal lattice. The morphology observed by FEG-SEM showed uniformity, presenting diameters between 122.44 nm and 157.66 nm of the NFs and an increase in the surface area in the nanofibers with doping ions. Optical analysis of the NFs indicated an indirect bandgap with absorption shifting to the infrared region. The Ti1.5NS NF demonstrated high efficiency in degrading phenol (98.65 %) and norfloxacin (99.90 %). Phenol showed photostability after 4 reuse cycles under UV radiation, but its in photocatalysis was reduced, while norfloxacin maintained its photocatalytic performance. The residual antibiotic activity test results prove norfloxacin degradation by the Nd/Sm co-doped TiO2 NFs, reinforcing its effectiveness in removing the investigated drug from the aqueous solution