Application of inorganic perovskite LaNiO3 partial substituted by Ce and Cu in absorbance and photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics

With the abuse of pharmaceuticals in human living activities, contaminants generated in the process of drug production and discharged into natural water after usage, which results in a huge challenge to current water treatment technologies. Perovskite materials have exhibited well photocatalytic properties from the application point of view for water treatment. In this paper, perovskite LaNiO3 was co-substituted by Ce and Cu elements with enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of the antibiotic (norfloxacin, NOR). The crystal structure and performance of as-synthesized co-substituted LaNiO3 photocatalyst are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic spectroscopy (XPS) and photocatalysis experiments. Co-substituted LaNiO3 showed higher absorbance, photocatalytic performance, and excellent total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency compared with LaNiO3. The photodegradation capacity and the TOC removal efficiency are almost 2 times higher than that of pure LaNiO3. The utilization of Ce and Cu, partially substituting for La and Ni to tune physical properties of perovskite materials provides a facile way to improve the photocatalytic performance for water treatment with degradation of antibiotics.