Preparation of Nanocomposites Based on Hydroxyapatite and Study on Photocatalytic Degradation of Pharmaceutical Pollution in Aqueous Media

Application of photocatalysis as a remedy to the environmental problems has progressed remarkably in recent years. Heterogeneous photocatalysis by use of semiconductor materials has emerged as an attractive advanced green technology in the environmental field such as water purification and air clean-up. It has high efficiency for decomposing a wide range of dyes, bacteria, detergents, pesticides, and volatile organic and inorganic compounds into carbon dioxide, water and mineral acids. If these compounds enter the environment, they will have adverse effects on non-target organisms.Hydroxyapatite (HAP) is a well-known biomaterial widely used for several biomedical applications like tissue engineering scaffolds, bone implantations, inorganic support and, as a catalyst. It has high importance in material research and pharmaceutical applications because of its excellent biocompatibility, bioactivity, absorbability, stability, reusability, performance, mechanical and, rich surface properties. Silver vanadate as an n-type semiconductor is very attractive because it has a narrow band gap (2.2 eV) and high photocatalytic activity. It can absorb most of the visible light and reduce energy consumption. In this investigation, we have prepared nanocomposites based on hydroxyapatite, including silver vanadate nanoparticles via a facile precipitation method which used to degrade a digestive anti-inflammatory drug in aqueous solutions under visible light irradiation to find the optimized condition. The synthesized products were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), mapping analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Silver vanadate nanoparticles were observed with the average particle size in the range of 25-70 nm that dispersed on the surface of hydroxyapatite uniformly. Furthermore, The factors affecting the degree of photocatalytic degradation, such as different concentrations of the drug, different quantities of catalyst and various pHs were studied. These conclusions are relevant to the focus of the environmental chemistry including control of environmental pollution problems, removal Pharmaceuticals in water and wastewater, advanced oxidation processes, developments in water management technologies.