Enhanced degradation of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole by heterogeneous photocatalysis using Ce0,8Gd0,2O2-δ/TiO2 particles

Abstract

Forms of degradation of the environmental pollutant sulphamethoxazole have been studied over the years, and one form of degradation in heterogeneous photocatalysis. In this work a study was carried out to elaborate a photocatalyst capable of degrading the pollutant sulfamethoxazole, starting to elaborate heterojunctions between TiO2 and CeO2 doped with gadolinium, showing that the combination of both materials is able to contribute to the degradation of the pollutant, promoting 97% degradation. This favorable performance can be attributed by the formation of a characterized heterojunction with presence of mesopores that aid in the adsorption processes on the surface of the photocatalyst, and a high formation of active sites resulting from the formation of the electron pair, promoted by the excitation of the electrons of the band of valence for conduction band by means of photons.