Cu-TiO₂-Aluminosilicate Nanocomposite as Highly Efficient Photocatalyst for Sustainable Removal of Cefixime Antibiotic: Synthesis, Optimization, and Toxicity Evaluation

Antibiotics, as emerging pollutants, cause a range of environmental issues due to their toxic and mutagenic effects, making their removal challenging. The objective of this study is to create a novel and promising photocatalyst. Cu-TiO₂-Aluminosilicate nanocomposite was successfully synthesized using a solvothermal process. A range of analytical techniques were employed to characterize Cu-TiO₂-Aluminosilicate nanocomposite, like SEM, XRD, UV-Vis, FTIR, BET, and TGA. The Taguchi method of experimental design (L16) was employed to optimize the photocatalysis process and determine the significance of investigated operating variables such as pH (2–8), photocatalyst dose (0.1–0.4 g/L), initial concentration (10–25 mg/L) and temperature (298–328 K). The experimental findings demonstrated that Cu-TiO₂-Aluminosilicate nanocomposite exhibited a remarkable photocatalytic activity. The maximal photocatalytic degradation achieved was 89.95% with optimum conditions of pH 4, dosage 0.1 g/L, initial concentration 15 mg/L, and temperature 318 K. The significance of the model was validated using analysis of variance (p < 0.05). Among the factors studied, pH, temperature and initial concentration were found the most influential. Additionally, the first-order kinetic model (R² = 0.994) demonstrated the strongest correlation with the experimental data indicated by the kinetic study results. The results of reusability experiments showed that prepared nanocomposite maintains its reusability from 89.95 to 68% after three cycles of application. The toxicity assessment of the treated solutions revealed higher cell viability in Scenedesmus and Chlorella sp. Therefore, based on the comprehensive findings, it can be concluded that Cu-TiO₂-Aluminosilicate nanocomposite is a novel photocatalyst for effective removal of antibiotics.