Mechanochemically Synthesized Solid Solutions La1-xCexFeO3+x/2 for Activation of Peroxydisulfate in Catalytical Reaction for Tetracycline Degradation

The synthesis of orthoferrites of the type La1-xCexFeO3+x/2, x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.07, by applying a simple and effective mechanochemical transformation from the constituent oxides is presented. Physicochemical methods such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption were applied to gain information about the effect of Ce4+ content on the structural, textural, and optical properties of the samples. The catalytic activity of the samples for water decontamination was determined in a photo-Fenton-like activation of persulfate for removal of tetracycline hydrochloride as model pollutant. The presence of persulfate, PDS, considerably increased the removal efficiency under visible light illumination.