Nanofibrous La0.95K0.05MnO3 perovskite with improved photoelectrical properties for photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics

Abstract Potassium doped lanthanum manganese perovskite oxides, La 1−x K x MnO 3 , with nanofibrous structure, are prepared and used for Photo-Fenton degradation of antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin (CIP), tetracycline (TC), and sulfathiazole (ST). Effects of K doping on the textural structure, optical property, band gap and surface chemistry of LaMnO 3 are investigated, showing that La 0.95 K 0.05 MnO 3 (LKMO-5) has the optimal properties. The photoelectric measurements, including photoluminescence (PL), photocurrent response (PCR) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), also suggest that the LKMO-5 has the best electron–hole separation efficiency, the most amounts of irradiated electrons and the lowest impedance. Photocatalytic tests indicate that LKMO-5 not only shows the best activity for CIP degradation, but also exhibits good stability in the reaction, with negligible activity loss within four cycles. Mechanism investigations, explored by the radical trapping experiments and with the reference of band positions, indicate that superoxide radical ions (·O 2− ) and holes (h + ) are the major reactive species of the reaction.