Preparation of Ce4+-doped BaZrO3 by hydrothermal method and application in dual-frequent sonocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin in aqueous solution

Abstract

In this paper, the dual-frequent sonocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin (NOR), an antibiotic, caused by Ce4+-doped BaZrO3 is studied. The used Ce4+-doped BaZrO3 as a novel sonocatalyst with highly efficient and stable sonocatalytic activity is prepared via hydrothermal method. The prepared sample is characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) in order to investigate the structure, morphology and chemical composition. The dual-frequent sonocatalytic activity of prepared Ce4+-doped BaZrO3 powder is evaluated through sonocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin (NOR) as a model organic pollutant. Some influencing factors such as single/dual-frequent ultrasonic frequent, cerium and zirconium molar proportions, ultrasonic irradiation time and used times are studied in detail by using UV–vis spectra. The generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the dual-frequent sonocatalytic degradation process of norfloxacin (NOR) are confirmed by using two different trapping agents. The holes (h+) and hydroxyl radicals (OH) are identified and the holes plays a major role during the oxidation process. Finally, the possible mechanism for the dual-frequent sonocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin (NOR) caused by Ce4+-doped BaZrO3 is proposed. The experimental results show that the Ce4+-doped BaZrO3 displays a good sonocatalytic activity under dual-frequent ultrasonic irradiation. Under optimal conditions, the most of norfloxacin (NOR) can be removed under dual-frequent ultrasonic irradiation for 150 min.