Metronidazole photodegradation under solar light with UiO-66-NH2 photocatalyst: Mechanisms, pathway, and toxicity assessment

Metronidazole is a nitroimidazole antibiotic that increasingly detected in aquatic bodies. Therefore, there an urgent need to research methodologies remove this and other antibiotics. One of the alternatives application solar photocatalysis, which requires use efficient photocatalyst. In work, UiO-66-NH2 was synthesized by facile solvothermal method evaluated for degradation metronidazole under simulated light. The effects catalyst dosage, initial pH, concentration were discussed, establishing best operation conditions. addition, stability reproducibility activity also verified. quenching reaction showed holes superoxide radicals coexisted as main active species, being responsible degradation. pathway photodegradation proposed means density functional theory calculations LC/ESI-MS analysis. It noteworthy study first time C6H11N3O4, C4H6N2O3, C4H8N2O4 byproducts. ECOSAR toxicity analysis all byproducts less toxic than original metronidazole, supporting potential feasibility treating water polluted with antibiotic.