Oxygen vacancy-rich CeO₂ decorated with Cu₃BiS₃ nanoparticles: Outstanding visible-light photocatalytic performance towards tetracycline degradation

Recently, the degradation of antibiotics has attracted a lot of attention all over the world, because the accumulation of these recalcitrant compounds in the environment, and their entry into the food chain have severely affected on human health. Herein, oxygen vacancy-rich CeO₂ was decorated with Cu₃BiS₃ nanoparticles to fabricate Z-scheme CeO_2-x/Cu₃BiS₃ photocatalysts with a simple procedure. Intriguingly, photocatalytic ability of CeO_2-x/Cu₃BiS₃ (30%) nanocomposite in the detoxification of tetracycline hydrochloride, cephalexin, azithromycin, and rhodamine B was elevated 31.3, 28.2, 45.2, and 10.1-folds as much as CeO₂, and 5.19, 5.97, 32.2, and 4.69-folds compared with the CeO_2-x photocatalyst, respectively. The admirable activity of CeO_2-x/Cu₃BiS₃ (30%) nanocomposite was ascribed to the production of many charge carriers, efficacious segregation and transfer of charges, and improved textural features, which were confirmed by UV–vis DRS, EIS, photocurrent density, PL, and BET analyses. In addition, the TC degradation pathway was investigated with LC-MS analysis, and also the biocompatibility of the purified solution was displayed with wheat seed cultivation. Regarding outstanding activity and facile synthesis, the CeO_2-x/Cu₃BiS₃ (30%) photocatalyst could be utilized for wastewater treatment.