Formulating InVO4/α-Fe2O3 Heterojunction Composites for Photocatalytic Tetracycline Hydrochloride Degradation

This study reports the synthesis of InVO4/alpha-Fe2O3 heterojunction photocatalysts with different stoichiometric ratios via a two-step hydrothermal synthesis reaction. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, and other methods. The prepared composites exhibited good photocatalysis of tetracycline hydrochloride. Among the InVO4/alpha-Fe2O3 heterojunction photocatalysts with different ratios, the InVO4/0.25 alpha-Fe2O3 photocatalyst showed the highest degradation rate for 20 mg L-1 tetracycline hydrochloride. After three photocatalytic runs, it still exhibited excellent stability and reusability. Meanwhile, this study also found that superoxide radical anion (-O2-), electron (e(-)), hydroxyl radical (<middle dot>OH), and photogenerated hole (h(+)) are the basic active substances in the photocatalytic process.