A novel <scp>CeO<sub>2</sub></scp>/<scp>MIL101</scp>(Fe) heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline under visible‐light irradiation
Fangyan Chen, Kun Bian, Hongshuang Li, Yubin Tang, Chen‐chen Hao, Weilong Shi
Abstract
Abstract BACKGROUND MIL101(Fe) has attracted growing attention as a potential new photocatalyst. However, the drawbacks of easy recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs result in unsatisfactory activity. RESULTS In this work, to enhance the photocatalytic activity of MIL101(Fe), CeO 2 nanorods were attached on the surface of octahedral MIL101(Fe) to obtain a novel 1D/3D heterojunction CeO 2 /MIL101(Fe). The as‐synthesized samples were characterized by a series of methods. The photocatalytic activity of CeO 2 /MIL101(Fe) was investigated by photodegradation of tetracycline under visible‐light irradiation. Compared with pristine CeO 2 and MIL101(Fe), the as‐prepared CeO 2 /MIL101(Fe) composite with CeO 2 content of 10 wt% exhibited a superior photocatalytic activity, with a tetracycline (TC) degradation efficiency of 83.5% and a TOC removal rate of 55.7% within 120 min. CONCLUSION The enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers resulting from the formation of type‐II heterojunction between CeO 2 and MIL101(Fe). This work provides a new approach for the fabrication of MOF‐based photocatalysts with high activity. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).