Novel magnetically separable Fe3O4@CQDs photocatalyst: Cytotoxicity effects and photocatalytic performance

چکیده مقاله

The modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) with carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were prepared as a new heterogeneous photocatalyst through the hydrothermal method from Cordia myxa L. fruit extract. The structure, morphology, and magnetic properties of Fe3O4@ CQDs were investigated using FT-IR, FESEM, EDX, XRD, TEM, and VSM analyses. The synthesized Fe3O4@ CQDs photocatalyst has been applied to degrade tetracycline (TC). Also, the effective parameters in the photocatalytic process such as pH, photocatalyst concentration, and concentration of TC were investigated. By performing the photocatalytic process and applying the optimized conditions, it was observed that the degradation percentage of TC was obtained at 93.2% after 40 min. The cytotoxicity of the photocatalyst was examined on the Huh-7 cell line by the MTT assay and the IC50 value was about 500 μg/mL.