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/Bi 2 WO 6 (where X = Cl, Br, or I) heterostructures with Bi 2 S 3 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/Bi 2 WO 6 /Bi 2 S 3 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…