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In this paper, Fe-doped SrTiO3 (FSTO) photocatalysts were successfully prepared via a facile solvothermal method, and their photocatalytic activities for degrading tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation were examined.

In our study, a new visible-light-driven photocatalyst Cu 2 O/SrTiO 3 (C/S) heterojunction was firstly prepared by a simple, facile and effective deposition-precipitation technique. The particle size of the Cu 2 O nanoparticle is only about 5 nm and the SrTiO 3 (STO) nanocube is about 50 nm when modified by Cu 2 O nanoparticles. The samples are used as photocatalysts for photodegrading tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. The 9-Cu 2 O/SrTiO 3 (9-C/S) sample heterojunction shows the highest TC degradation ratio (77.65%), which is caused by the photogenerated electrons of the Cu 2 O nanoparticles moving from the conduction band of Cu 2 O to that of SrTiO 3 , resulting in the separation of electrons and holes. This study not only shows a possibility for substituting noble metals with low-cost Cu 2 O nanoparticles in photocatalytic degradation but also exhibits a facile deposition-precipitation technique for synthesizing narrow/wide band gap photocatalysts.Fig. 3 (a) UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra of STO NCs, Cu 2 O NPs and 9-Cu 2 O/STO heterojunction; (b) electrochemical impedance spectroscopy spectra of pure SrTiO 3 NCs and 9-Cu 2 O/STO heterojunction; (c) photoresponse density of STO NCs and Cu 2 O/STO heterojunction.This journal is