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Facile synthesis of Er-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles for enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride

  • Original Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for catalytic, photoelectrochemical and sensor applications
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Abstract

In the present work, Er-doped BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles (Bi(1−x)ErxFeO3, where x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) containing different concentrations of Er dopants were successfully prepared through a facile sol gel method. The crystalline structure, morphological features, and chemical compositions of the obtained samples were examined by a variety of characterization techniques, and these samples were then used as photocatalysts for the photocatalytic removal of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) upon visible light. The Er doping could significantly improve the optical absorption capability of the BFO especially in visible light range, and could also boost the photocatalytic activity of the BFO for TC removal. Among all the prepared photocatalysts, the Er3%-BFO sample yielded the highest photocatalytic efficiency of 75.8% for TC removal, which was nearly 2.78 times that of pure BFO. On the basis of the photocurrent response, electrochemical impedance spectra, and photoluminescence emission results, the contributions made on the significantly boosted photocatalytic activities of Er-doped BFO could be reflected on the following aspects: (i) the improved spectral absorption especially in visible light region, (ii) the promotion of photoinduced charge separation and migration, and (iii) the suppressed recombination probability of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The present work demonstrates the feasibility of employing rare earth doping to develop highly efficient BFO-based photocatalysts for the photocatalytic removal of antibiotics.

The photocatalytic activity of BiFeO3 for tetracycline hydrochloride removal was significantly improved by the effective doping of Er3+ rare earth ions.

Highlights

  • Effective Er doping into BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles was obtained by a facile sol–gel route.

  • The optical absorption properties of BFO nanoparticles was improved by Er doping.

  • Er-doped BFO nanoparticles showed superior photocatalytic activities for TC removal.

  • The possible photocatalytic mechanism of Er-doped BFO nanoparticles was discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support from the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LY17E020009), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51872271 and 51572250), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFF0204701), CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (No. 2013DP173231), Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Chem & Bio Processing Technology of Farm Products (No. 2016KF0002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, China

    Jiabo Zhou, Lidong Jiang, Da Chen, Junhui Liang, Laishun Qin, Xingguo Sun & Yuexiang Huang

  2. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Utilization of Forestry Biomass, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin’an, Zhejiang, 311300, China

    Liqun Bai

  3. Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Chem & Bio Processing Technology of Farm Products, Zhejiang University of Science & Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310023, China

    Liqun Bai

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  1. Jiabo Zhou
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  3. Da Chen
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Zhou, J., Jiang, L., Chen, D. et al. Facile synthesis of Er-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles for enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 90, 535–546 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-019-04932-5

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