Preparation of Cu2O@TiOF2/TiO2 and its photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride wastewater

Abstract

A new high-efficiency photocatalyst Cu₂O@TiOF₂/TiO₂ was synthesized by a hydrothermal method and applied to the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TTCH). The samples were analyzed by SEM, EDS, XRD, BET, UV-vis DRS, Raman, PL, FT-IR. The Cu : Ti = 1 : 8 catalyst showed a narrow band gap of 2.10 eV, indicating that it can degrade TTCH as a novel photocatalyst capable of responding to sunlight. The average particle diameter is (2–6) nm, and the particle size distribution is narrow. When the reaction was carried out under simulated solar light for 3 hours, the efficiency for degrading 10 mg L⁻¹ tetracycline hydrochloride was as high as 96.83% when the catalyst dosage was 40 mg. It is shown from the capture experiments that ·O₂⁻ and ·OH play a major role in this reaction. In addition, it was found that the degradation of TTCH conforms to the first-order kinetic model.