Photocatalytic Activity of UV-Assisted Dumbbell-Shaped Cluster of CuBi2O4 Nanorods Synthesized via a Facile Hydrothermal Approach

In this work, photocatalytic activities of dumbbell-shaped CuBi 2 O 4 clusters were investigated to degrade metronidazole (MNZ) medical waste, a widely used and environmentally persistent antibiotic, under UV light condition. Structural and morphological analyses confirmed the presence of a single tetragonal (P4/ncc) phase and nanorod-shaped CuBi 2 O 4 particles. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the presence of a mixed oxidation state of copper (Cu + /Cu 2+ ) and UV-Vis spectroscopy exhibited a narrow indirect band gap of approximately 1.44 eV. Photocatalytic experiments showed a maximum degradation efficiency of 87.1% for MNZ at pH 12 with a catalyst dose of 0.4 g/L, following pseudo-first-order kinetics. This enhanced photocatalytic property is attributed to the increased surface area, effective charge carrier separation, presence of oxygen vacancies, and the formation of highly reactive hydroxyl and superoxide radicals, which accelerate the degradation of MNZ.