Novel Fe₂O₃/Bi₂O₃/CeO₂ heterojunction photocatalyst for wastewater treatment: Characterization, photocatalytic performance and mechanism study

A novel ternary Fe₂O₃/Bi₂O₃/CeO₂ (FeB/CeO₂) heterojunction nanocomposite with different Fe₂O₃/Bi₂O₃ amounts on CeO₂ (5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 wt%) was synthesized through a simple wet impregnation process. The properties of the synthesized nanocomposite were validated thorough XPS, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, and EDS-Mapping analyses. This photocatalyst exhibited exceptional efficiency in the of Tetracycline's (TC) photodegradation in comparison to individual Fe₂O₃, Bi₂O₃, and CeO₂. The effect of Fe₂O₃/Bi₂O₃ loading on CeO₂ and the influence of operational factors on TC decomposition including photocatalyst dosage (0.05–0.2 g/L), TC concentration (10–40 mg/L), and pH (1–11) were examined with the optimal conditions yielding an experimental degradation efficiency of 99.35 %. Moreover, scavenger tests showed that ^[rad]O₂⁻ and ^[rad]OH radicals served as the main oxidative radical species. The study further delved into proposing potential degradation pathways of TC in accordance with liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry analysis. Notably, the stability of the synthesized photocatalyst was assessed through five degradation cycles, affirming its sustained effectiveness.