Nanostructured cerium-doped ZnO for photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals in aqueous solution

This work used a simple hydrothermal method to prepare cerium-doped zinc oxide photocatalysts with different particle sizes and morphologies. Studies of the photocatalytic activity revealed that the as-prepared ZnO and Ce-doped nanostructure materials exhibited an improved photocatalytic performance in the degradation of pharmaceuticals such as nizatidine, levofloxacin and acetaminophen under irradiation with UV-B light. Around 95% of the degradation of these pharmaceuticals was achieved within 4 h. These results suggest that ZnO and Ce-doped ZnO are promising candidates for decontamination of hazardous lowly-concentrated pollutants in water.