Synthesis and Property Examination of Er2FeSbO7/BiTiSbO6 Heterojunction Composite Catalyst and Light-Catalyzed Retrogradation of Enrofloxacin in Pharmaceutical Waste Water under Visible Light Irradiation

Jingfei Luan; Wenlu Liu; Ye Yao; Bingbing Ma; Bowen Niu; Guangmin Yang; Zhijie Wei

doi:10.3390/ma15175906

Synthesis and Property Examination of Er₂FeSbO₇/BiTiSbO₆ Heterojunction Composite Catalyst and Light-Catalyzed Retrogradation of Enrofloxacin in Pharmaceutical Waste Water under Visible Light Irradiation

Materials (Basel). 2022 Aug 26;15(17):5906. doi: 10.3390/ma15175906.

Authors

Jingfei Luan^{1

2}, Wenlu Liu¹, Ye Yao¹, Bingbing Ma¹, Bowen Niu¹, Guangmin Yang¹, Zhijie Wei¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Physics, Changchun Normal University, Changchun 130032, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.

Abstract

A new photocatalyst, Er2FeSbO7, was prepared by solid phase sintering using the high-temperature synthesis method for the first time in this paper. Er2FeSbO7/BiTiSbO6 heterojunction (EBH) catalyst was prepared by the solvent thermal method for the first time. Er2FeSbO7 compound crystallized in the pyrochlore-type architecture and cubelike crystal system; the interspace group of Er2FeSbO7 was Fd3m and the crystal cellular parameter a of Er2FeSbO7 was 10.179902 Å. The band gap (BDG) width of Er2FeSbO7 was 1.88 eV. After visible light irradiation of 150 minutes (VLGI-150min) with EBH as a photocatalyst, the removal rate (RR) of enrofloxacin (ENR) concentration was 99.16%, and the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration RR was 94.96%. The power mechanics invariable k toward ENR consistency and visible light irradiation (VLGI) time with EBH as a photocatalyzer attained 0.02296 min−1. The power mechanics invariable k which was involved with TOC attained 0.01535 min−1. The experimental results showed that the photocatalytic degradation (PCD) of ENR within pharmaceutical waste water with EBH as a photocatalyzer under VLGI was in keeping with the single-order reactivity power mechanics. The RR of ENR with EBH as a photocatalyzer was 1.151 times, 1.269 times or 2.524 times that with Er2FeSbO7 as a photocatalyst, BiTiSbO6 as a photocatalyst, or N-doping TiO2 (N-TO) as a photocatalyst after VLGI-150min. The photocatalytic activity, which ranged from high to low among above four photocatalysts, was as follows: EBHP > Er2FeSbO7 > BiTiSbO6 > N-TO. After VLGI-150min toward three periods of the project with EBH as a photocatalyst, the RR of ENR attained 98.00%, 96.76% and 95.60%. The results showed that the stability of EBH was very high. With appending trapping agent, it could be proved that the oxidative capability for degrading ENR, which ranged from strong to weak among three oxidic radicals, was as follows: superoxide anion > hydroxyl radicals (HRS) > holes. This work provides a scientific basis for the research and oriented leader development of efficient heterojunction catalysts.

Keywords: Er2FeSbO7; Er2FeSbO7/BiTiSbO6 heterojunction photocatalyst; enrofloxacin; pharmaceutical wastewater; photocatalytic activity; visible light irradiation.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Project Funded by the Scientific and Technical Innovation Leading Personnel and Team Foundation for Middle-aged and Young Scientists of the Science and Technology Bureau of the Jilin Province of China (Grant No. 20200301033RQ); the Free Exploring Key Item of the Natural Science Foundation of the Science and Technology Bureau of the Jilin Province of China (Grant No. YDZJ202101ZYTS161); the Industrial Technology Research and Development Fund of the Jilin Province Capital Development Fund on Budget in 2021 of the Jilin Province Development and Reform Commission of China (Grant No. 2021C037-1); the Innovational and Enterprising Talents of the Department of Human Resource and Social Security of the Jilin Province of China (Grant No. 2020033); the Natural Science Foundation of Changchun Normal University (Grant No. [2019]13); and the Scientific Research Initiating Foundation for Advanced Doctors of Changchun Normal University.