Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline Using Fe2O3─CeO2─C3N4 Synthesized via KCl–LiCl Molten Salt Method

Graphical A series of Fe 2 O 3 ─CeO 2 ─C 3 N 4 (Fe–Ce–CN) catalysts were synthesized by a KCl–LiCl molten salt method. The 0.5 wt.% Fe 2 O 3 loaded Fe–Ce–CN which synthesized at 550 °C for 4 h had an excellent photocatalytic activity towards to tetracycline (TC) degradation due to the significantly boosted separation efficiency of photoexcited electron-hole pairs. In this work, Fe 2 O 3 ─CeO 2 ─C 3 N 4 (Fe–Ce–CN) catalysts were synthesized in the KCl–LiCl molten salt system, and their photocatalytic properties towards tetracycline (TC) degradation in wastewater were studied. The obtained 0.5 wt.% Fe–Ce–CN, synthesized at 550 °C for 4 h with 0.5 wt.% Fe 2 O 3 , had the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency for tetracycline (TC), which achieved degradation ratios of 98.3% and 96.9% for TC solutions at concentrations of 20 mg/L and 80 mg/L, respectively. Characterizations indicated that the 0.5 wt.% Fe–Ce–CN had significantly enhanced photo-excited electron-hole separation efficiency and promoted photocatalytic activity. Additionally, superoxide radicals · O 2 − and electrons ( e − ) were identified as the key reactive species for TC degradation with 0.5 wt.% Fe–Ce–CN, attributing to its band structure. The possible enhancement mechanism was discussed and proposed. The findings in this work provide a new approach to preparing high-performance photocatalysts and offer insights into the Fe–Ce–CN ternary photocatalysts.