Construction dual active sites on SnO2 via Fe doping for effective ciprofloxacin photodegradation

Abstract

Adjusting the electronic structure via doping and enhancing the active sites of photocatalysts are proven strategies for improving the photodegradation of pollutants. However, the photodegradation mechanism involving doping elements and their impact on pollutant adsorption and activation at active sites remain unclear. In this study, Fe-doped SnO2 photocatalysts were synthesized using the hydrothermal method, featuring small particle sizes and highly active sites. It was found that doping SnO2 with 3 mol% Fe3+ significantly enhances its photocatalytic efficiency in degrading Ciprofloxacin, outperforming pure SnO2 by approximately 18.6 times. Spectroscopy methods, combined with density functional theory calculations, revealed that the presence of Lewis acid sites and oxygen vacancies serve as active sites in the Fe-doped SnO2 samples. Furthermore, a detailed photodegradation mechanism for Fe-doped SnO2 was proposed based on the band energy structure and analysis of free radical results. This research provides new insights into the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of Ciprofloxacin by elucidating the interactions between the active sites of the photocatalyst and Ciprofloxacin molecules.