Preparation of Cu₂O@TiOF₂/TiO₂and 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.