Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of ErBO3 photocatalysts with four morphologies for norfloxacin degradation

Take advantage of the 4 f electron transition of Er ions and two-dimensional nanosheets, four kinds of ErBO 3 powders with different morphologies were prepared by hydrothermal method and their photocatalytic degradation performance of Norfloxacin were investigated. XRD and SEM results indicate that all four prepared products are single-phase ErBO 3 compounds, exhibiting distinct microstructural morphologies. Among them, the ErBO 3 (8) flower self-assembled by two-dimensional nanosheets exhibits the highest photocatalytic performance and the degradation rate of norfloxacin can reach 89.6 % after 120 min illumination, and the first-order rate constant is 1.04 × 10 −2 min −1 . Through the comparative analysis of the four powders’ properties, it was found that ErBO 3 (8) flower balls had the lowest fluorescence intensity and the highest photocurrent, which indicated that the material exhibits a high efficiency in separating photogenerated carriers. This can primarily be attributed to its unique nanosheet structure, which not only confers a high specific surface area but also significantly increases the concentration of chemisorbed oxygen, thereby effectively suppressing the recombination of photogenerated carriers.