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

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.