Photocatalytic oxidation degradation of tetracycline over La/Co@TiO nanospheres under visible light.

The oxygen-vacancy-rich La/Co@TiO nanospheres for the photo catalytic degradation of tetracycline were prepared by a simple two-step method. 3 wt%La/Co@TiO nanospheres had better photocatalytic performance of the degradation of tetracycline than that of the other catalysts under visible light may be due to the synergistic effect between La/Co and TiO and nano-confined effect. The catalytic experimental results showed the degradation ratio of tetracycline (40 mg/L) were 100% for 90 min. XPS, Raman, and photoelectrochemical results showed appropriate number of oxygen vacancies existed on the surface of TiO, which could improve the activation efficiency of dissolved oxygen in tetracycline solution because they accelerated the electron transfer rate in the system and inhibited the photoelectron-hole pair recombination under visible light. The EPR and radical scavenger tests showed h, O, and ·OH were the main active species for the degradation of tetracycline. Also, the possible mechanism and intermediates of the tetracycline degradation process were speculated under the visible light. La/Co@TiO nanospheres would be a promising photocatalyst for wastewater treatment.