Visible-light driven of heterostructured LaFeO3/TiO2 photocatalysts for degradation of antibiotics: Ciprofloxacin as case study

In this contribution, a favorable strategy to construct highly effective porous LaFeO3/TiO(2 )photocatalysts has been developed to decontaminate Ciprofloxacin (CIP) in water under visible illumination. Pluronic L-64 surfactant was utilized for synthesizing mesoporous TiO(2 )nanocrystalline, and then LaFeO3 at diverse contents has been impregnated on the TiO2 surface. The complete CIP degradation over 3% LaFeO3/TiO2 nanocomposite was determined to be around 100% within 90 min. The photocatalytic efficency of LaFeO3/TiO2 nanocomposite was promoted 20 folds larger than the TiO2 NPs. The rate constant of the 3%LaFeO3/TiO2 nanocomposite (1.58 x 10(-2) min(-1)) was found to be about 31.6 folds higher than TiO2 NPs (0.05 x 10(-2) min(-1)). This was imputed to the superb synergistic effect between LaFeO3 and TiO2 and their magnificent photocatalysis stability. The capability of charge carriers mobility in porous LaFeO3/TiO2 photocatalysts was verified by photoelectrochemical and photoluminescence responses. The improved photocatalytic performance of LaFeO3/TiO2 nanocomposite was significantly interpreted as the formation of 2D mesoporous LaFeO3/TiO2 heterojunction, which boosted the mobility and separation of photoinduced charges. This study provides a practicable avenue to design and construct highly active TiO2-based nanomaterials under visible illumination.