Fabrication of rare earth Gd and Ce modified multiferroic BiFeO3 for photocatalytic degradation of ibuprofen

Ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), is one of the major pollutants in pharmaceutical wastewater. This research focuses on the degradation of the phamaceutical pollutant (ibuprofen) using a semiconductor-based photocatalytic process, specifically Gadolinium (Gd) and Cerium (Ce)-doped multiferroic BiFeO 3 . Pure BiFeO 3 , as well as Gd and Ce-doped BiFeO 3 , were successfully synthesized using the sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction analysis was used to identify the phase of Gd and Ce dopants. Confirmed the presence of Bi O, Fe O, Gd O, and Ce O functional groups. The resulting crystal sizes ranged from 44.16 nm to 82.28 nm, with an irregular morphology. Elemental composition analysis showed average contents of Bi 47–57 %, Fe 23–37 %, O 10–25 %, Gd 3–9 %, and Ce 4–7 %. Vibrating-sample magnetometry revealed the ferromagnetic behavior of the bismuth ferrite and Gd and Ce-doped BiFeO 3 , confirming that saturation magnetization decreased with addition of Gd and Ce. The photocatalytic experiment for degradation of ibuprofen showed optimum parameters at pH 2, with a 0.1 g catalyst mass and a 30-min irradiation time. Compared to other photocatalysts, the 10 % Ce-doped BiFeO 3 demonstrated the best degradation performance both under UV and visible light, with percentages of 65.44 % and 57.44 %, respectively. In light of these findings, Ce co-doped BiFeO 3 emerge as promising candidates as photocatalysts for ibuprofen degradation.