Visible light activated photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline by a magnetically separable composite photocatalyst: Graphene oxide/magnetite/cerium-doped titania

Abstract

In this study, magnetic graphene oxide-loaded Ce-doped titania (MGO–Ce–TiO2) hybridized composite was prepared by a facile method. The as-prepared samples exhibited good adsorption capacity, high visible-light photoactive and magnetic separability as a novel photocatalyst in the degradation of tetracyclines (TC). The intermediate products and photocatalytic route of TC were proposed based on the analysis results of LC–MS. Moreover, the repeatability of the photoactivity with the use of MGO–Ce–TiO2 was investigated in the multi-round experiments with the assistance of an applied magnetic field. Therefore, the prepared composite photocatalysts were considered as a kind of promising photocatalyst in a suspension reaction system, in which they can offer effectively recovery ability. The effect of MGO content on the photocatalytic performance was also studied, and an optimum content was obtained.