Prussian blue modified CeO2 as a heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like catalyst for degradation of norfloxacin in water

Abstract

The heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like process is emerging as a promising treatment of antibiotics-containing wastewater. The preparation of new efficient and stable catalysts is one of the research fields. A composite catalyst, prussian blue (PB) modified CeO₂ was prepared, characterized, and applied for photo-Fenton oxidation of norfloxacin (NOR) in this study. It was found that chemical doping of PB leaded to more oxygen vacancies and increased the surface area of CeO₂ obviously. PB/CeO₂ with more Ce³⁺ facilitated electron transfer between Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ with Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺. PB could also improve the separation rate of photoexcited electron-hole pairs in CeO₂ nanostructures. When the doping ratio of PB and CeO₂ was 10%, PB/CeO₂ show the highest catalytic degradation ability and 88.93% of NOR could be degraded within 30 min. PB/CeO₂ composite showed well reactivity at the wide pH value range of 3-8. The reusable experiments and low iron dissolution with less than 1 mg/L indicated that PB/CeO₂ could be employed as an efficient heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like catalyst in organic contaminants degradation.

Keywords: CeO2; Norfloxacin; Oxygen vacancies; Photo-Fenton-like; Prussian blue.