Hydrothermal synthesis of BiOX/Bi2WO6/Bi2S3 ternary heterostructures for enhanced solar light photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin in aquatic media

The presence of trace levels of antibiotics in drinking water poses a serious concern as it contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. In this study, various bismuth-based ternary heterostructure photocatalysts were synthesized by combining BiOX/Bi2WO6 (where X = Cl, Br, or I) heterostructures with Bi2S3 at a molar ratio of 1:1:1. The X-ray deffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses confirmed the successful synthesis of BiOX/Bi2WO6/Bi2S3 ternary heterostructures with tunable band gaps, while the photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy indicated enhanced charge separation. The photocatalytic performance of these ternary heterostructures was evaluated by degrading ciprofloxacin (CFX) in an aqueous solution under solar light.