Adsorption promoted visible-light-induced photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic tetracycline by tin oxide/cerium oxide nanocomposite

Increasing environmental concerns related to the use of antibiotics and organic dyes has resulted in a serious demand for effective methods to remove these compounds from industrial wastewater. To address this issue, there remains a need for advanced semiconductor photocatalysts with cost-effectiveness and better performance. Tuned properties (optical and surface) were achieved for the fabricated tin oxide/cerium oxide nanostructured photocatalysts and used for visible-light-induced photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic and dyes for wastewater decontamination. The visible-light-induced degradation performance of tin oxide/cerium oxides was tested in aqueous solution using the antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) as a model pollutant. The best result among the studied photocatalysts showed the TC removal efficiency of -97% in 120 min under visiblelight irradiation with more than 50% of adsorption of TC. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity was also tested towards organic dyes (Methylene blue; MB and Congo red; CR) and exhibited excellent performance for the degradation of both the dyes with the degradation efficiency of around -90 and -97% for CR and MB, respectively. Moreover, the photocatalyst also showed the stability towards the degradation of a pollutant, thus can be also explored for other emerging pollutants.

Automated summary

The study focused on the development of advanced semiconductor photocatalysts using tin oxide/cerium oxide nanostructures for the efficient degradation of antibiotics and organic dyes in industrial wastewater under visible light irradiation. The photocatalysts showed high removal efficiencies for pollutants like tetracycline hydrochloride, Methylene blue, and Congo red, making them promising candidates for wastewater treatment applications.