Abstract
Co-doped Fe(2)O(3) spindles with different Co contents were successfully fabricated by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The crystalline structure, morphology, optical properties, and chemical state of the as-prepared catalysts before and after photo-Fenton reaction were characterized. Co(2+) incorporated into the Fe(2)O(3) lattice was confirmed by the above characterizations. Also, the photocatalytic and photo-Fenton catalytic performances of the samples were evaluated by the degradation of tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation in the absence/presence of H(2)O(2). The results demonstrated that Co-doped Fe(2)O(3) spindles exhibited better catalytic degradation performance in comparison with single Fe(2)O(3) spindles, and the sample of Co(5%)-Fe(2)O(3) spindles displayed the highest activity and best stability. The improvement of photo-Fenton activity might be attributed to two reasons: On the one hand, Co-doped Fe(2)O(3) spindles not only formed the Fe vacancies to reduce the band gap but also could build up an internal electric field, which inhibits electron/hole pair recombination and facilitates the transfer of photoexcited charge carriers. On the other hand, the intrinsic Co(2+)/Co(3+) redox cycling can accelerate the circulation between Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) in Co(5%)-Fe(2)O(3) spindles to facilitate H(2)O(2) consumption and produce more ·OH radicals for TC degradation.