Novel Fe2O3/Bi2O3/CeO2heterojunction photocatalyst for wastewater treatment: Characterization, photocatalytic performance and mechanism study

A novel ternary Fe2O3/Bi2O3/CeO2 (FeB/CeO2) heterojunction nanocomposite with different Fe2O3/Bi2O3 amounts on CeO2 (5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 wt%) was synthesized through a simple wet impregnation process. The properties of the synthesized nanocomposite were validated thorough XPS, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, and EDSMapping analyses. This photocatalyst exhibited exceptional efficiency in the of Tetracycline's (TC) photodegradation in comparison to individual Fe2O3, Bi2O3, and CeO2. The effect of Fe2O3/Bi2O3 loading on CeO2 and the influence of operational factors on TC decomposition including photocatalyst dosage (0.05-0.2 g/L), TC concentration (10-40 mg/L), and pH (1-11) were examined with the optimal conditions yielding an experimental degradation efficiency of 99.35 %. Moreover, scavenger tests showed that center dot O-2(-) and center dot OH radicals served as the main oxidative radical species. The study further delved into proposing potential degradation pathways of TC in accordance with liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry analysis. Notably, the stability of the synthesized photocatalyst was assessed through five degradation cycles, affirming its sustained effectiveness.