High-efficient removal of tetracycline in water via porous magnetic Ce/Fe photocomposite under visible light

Tetracycline is a typical antibiotic commonly used in various industries which is eco-toxic and quickly causes bacterial resistance. Therefore, studying the efficient removal of tetracycline is necessary to protect the water environment. Herein, a novel Ce/Fe nanoparticle composite (1CCFO) was prepared by the sol–gel method and its removal effects of tetracycline under visible light were performed. The relationship between physicochemical properties of catalyst and photocatalytic degradation effects of tetracycline was analyzed based on a series of characterizations data such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. The results show that Ce/Fe photocatalyst possesses a large specific surface area, good visible light response, abundant oxygen vacancies and excellent redox performance, exhibiting good adsorption capacity, remarkable catalytic performance and stability. The optimal conditions for tetracycline removal were explored through orthogonal experiments. About 88% of tetracycline can be photodegraded in 1 h under optimal conditions. The possible decomposition pathways, main reactive oxygen species and suitable mechanism of the photocatalytic system were studied by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), an electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer and free radical quenching experiments. The results show that 1CCFO has an efficient degradation effect on tetracycline under visible light, which provides a feasible method to improve the performance of 1CCFO.