Novel visible-light-driven SrCoO₃/Ag₃PO₄ heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic performance for tetracycline...

The semiconductor photocatalytic technology has been considerably studied due to its excellent catalytic performance in water pollution control. Herein, in this study, novel SrCoO₃/Ag₃PO₄ composite materials with different SrCoO₃ content were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal synthesis method. The characteristics of the as-prepared samples were detected through SEM/HRTEM, XRD, UV-vis DRS, PL, ESR, FT-IR, and XPS techniques, and then, the photocatalytic performance of SrCoO₃/Ag₃PO₄ toward the degradation of tetracycline was investigated. When the mass ratio of SrCoO₃ and Ag₃PO₄ in the composite was 1:1.5, the degradation rate constant of tetracycline in SrCoO₃/Ag₃PO₄ (1:1.5) system is 0.0102 min^-1, which is 1.7 times that of the Ag₃PO₄, and 3.78 times that of the SrCoO₃. In addition, reactive species were also analyzed through the free radical trapping experiment and DMPO spin-trapping ESR spectra analysis, showing that OH^•, h⁺, and O₂^•-participated in the catalytic degradation process of tetracycline to varying degrees. Finally, the photocatalytic mechanism of SrCoO₃/Ag₃PO₄ was also proposed.