Fabrication of Ce/N co-doped TiO2/diatomite granule catalyst and its improved visible-light-driven photoactivity

Eliminating antibiotic remnants in aquatic environment has become one of the hottest topics among current research works. Thus, we prepared Ce, N co-doped TiO2/diatomite granule (CNTD-G) catalyst to provide a new method. As one typical antibiotics, oxytetracycline (OTC) was selected as the target pollutant to be degradated under visible light irradiation. The carrier diatomite helped the spread of TiO2 nanoparticles onto its surface, and inhibited their agglomeration. The synergy of Ce and N dopants highly improved the visible-light-driven photoactivity of TiO2. The optimal doping amount and degradation conditions were determined. Besides, the effects of impurity ions were also investigated, including cations: Ca2+, Mg2+; or anions: NO3−, SO42− and PO43−. The intermediates generated during degradation process were studied, and the mechanism of the photodegradation process was proposed. CNTD-G could be easily collected from the reactor, and showed excellent recyclability.